THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


EVERY    LADY 

HER    OWN 

FLOWER  GARDENER. 

BY 

LOUISA  JOHNSON. 

CONTAINING 

t 

SIMPLE  AND  PRACTICAL  DIRECTIONS 

••  FOR 

CULTIVATING   PLANTS  AND  FLOWERS, 

IN  THE 

NORTHERN  AND  SOUTHERN  STATES. 

ALSO 

FLORA'S  REVEALINGS, 

HINTS  FOR  THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  FLOWERS  IN  ROOMS, 

&C.,  WITH   BRIEF  BOTANICAL  DESCRIPTIONS 

OF  PLANTS  AND  FLOWERS  ; 

THE  WHOLE  IN 

PLAIN  AND  SIMPLE  LANGUAGE, 

EXPRESSLY  CALCULATED 

FOR    POPULAR    USE. 


PUBLISHED  BY  S.   BABCOCK, 

J844. 


ENTERED, 

ACCORDING  TO  THE  ACT  OF  CONGRESS,  IN  THE  YEAR  1842, 

BY   S.    BABCOCK, 

IN  THE  OFFICE  OF  THE  CLERK  OF  THE  DISTRICT  COURT  OF 
CONNECTICUT. 


SB.405 


PREFACE. 


I  HAVE  been  induced  to  compile  this  little  work  from  hearing  many 
of  my  companions  regret  that  no  single  book  contained  a  sufficiently 
condensed  and  general  account  of  the  business  of  a  Flower  Garden. 
"  We  require,"  they  said,  "a  work  in  a  small  compass,  which  will 
enable  us  to  become  our  own  gardener:  we  wish  to  know  how  to 
set  about  every  thing  ourselves,  without  expense,  without  being  del 
uged  with  Latin  words  and  technical  terms,  and  without  being 
obliged  to  pick  our  way  through  multiplied  publications,  redolent 
of  descriptions,  and  not  always  particularly  lucid.  We  require  a 
practical  work,  telling  us  of  useful  flowers,  simple  modes  of  rearing 
them,  simply  expressed,  and  free  from  lists  of  plants  and  roots  which 
require  expensive  methods  of  preservation.  Some  of  us  have  gar 
dens,  but  we  cannot  afford  a  gardener:  we  like  flowers,  but  we 
cannot  attempt  to  take  more  than  common  pains  to  raise  them. 
We  require  to  know  the  hardiest  flowers,  and  to  comprehend  the 
general  business  of  the  garden,  undisturbed  by  fear  of  failure, 
and  at  the  most  economical  scale  of  expense.  Who  will  write  us 
such  a  book?" 

1* 

,r;'".  '  e  "* '.>/:*  v> 

-J 


IV  PREFACE. 

I  have  endeavored  to  meet  their  views ;  and  my  plan  of  Floricul 
ture  may  be  carried  into  effect  by  any  lady  who  can  command  tin 
services  of  an  old  man,  a  woman,  or  a  stout  boy.  I  have  omittcc 
the  names  of  all  tender  plants  ;  and  I  have  given  a  chapter  to  eacl 
class  of  plants,  in  language  as  plain  as  the  subject  would  allow 
I  have  avoided  technicality ;  and  I  have  endeavored  to  execute  my 
task  with  a  due  respect  to  economy,  simplicity,  and  arrangement 
I  dedicate  my  work  to  all  of  my  own  sex  who  delight  in  flowers, 
and  yet  cannot  allow  themselves  to  enter  into  great  expense  h 
their  cultivation. 

L.  JOHNSON. 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION. 

Pleasures  of  Gardening — How  conducive  to  health — Early  taste 
for  Gardening  in  England — Pleasure-gardens  at  Theobalds — 
Gardening  for  ladies  m".  "*  "  "  "  page  9 — 12 

CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  REMARKS. 

Situation  for  a  Flower-garden — On  improving  the  soil — Aspect  and 
choice  of  Flowers — Monthly  Roses — Rustic  Stages — Garden 
Tools,  and  Working  Dress — India-rubber  shoes  indispensable 

13—18 

CHAPTER  II. 

LAYING    OUT. 

Arrangement  of  Plants — Root-houses — Annuals — Biennials — Pe 
rennials — Planting  out  beds — Amelioration  of  Soils — Monthly 
Lists  of  Flowers — Destructive  habits  of  Hares  and  Rabbits, 
Snails,  Earwigs, — Mildew  and  Blight — Neatness  and  Order  in 
dispensable  in  a  well-kept  Garden — Spring  Plants — List  of  Pe 
rennials  19—39 


V1  CONTEXTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 
BULBS   AND    PERENNIALS. 

Transplanting  Bulbs — Advantage  of  Salt  Manures — Best  arrange 
ment  for  choice  Bulbs — Select  Lists — Fibrous-rooted  Flowers 
— Biennial — Their  propagation — Protection  necessary 

page  40— Gl: 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ANNUALS. 

Sowing  and  gathering  Seed — Training  and  trimming  Plants- 
List  of  Annuals G3 — 70 

CHAPTER  V. 

ROSES   AND   JASMINES. 

Poetry  of  Flowers — Varieties  of  Roses — Pyramids — Climbing  va 
rieties — Insects  injurious  to  the  Rose — List  of  Roses — Luxu 
riant  appearance  of  the  Jasmine — Devices  for  displaying  its 
beauty  71—80 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SHRUBS   AND    EVERGREENS. 

On  Planting — Distance  between  each — Various  modes  of  propa 
gating — List  of  best  Garden  sorts — Pruning        -        -     81—88 

CHAPTER  VII. 

MONTHLY   NOTICES. 

Recapitulation  of  work  to  be  done  in  each  Month        -       89 — 95 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   VEGETABLE   GARDEN. 

Calendar  for  the  Southern  States  -        -        page  96— 100 

CHAPTER  IX. 

VEGETABLE   AND   FLOWER    GARDEN. 

Calendar  for  the  Northern  States  -        -        -        101— 110 

CHAPTER  X. 

MANAGEMENT  OF  PLANTS  IN  ROOMS. 

Hints — Want  of  proper  light  and  air — Injudicious  watering — Ex 
traneous  matter  collected  on  the  leaves — Bulbs  111 — 113 

CHAPTER  XL 
FLORA'S  REVEALINGS. 

Lan  "a;  e  of  Flowers 114—118 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Planting — Gathering  and  Preservation  of  seeds        -       119 — 132 
*  CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   WEATHER. 

Clouds — Winds — Mists — Signs  of  rain,  &c.  -        133 — 136 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

BOTANICAL   EXPLANATIONS. 

Flowers — Inflorescence,  or  manner  of  Flowering — Classes  and  or 
ders — Poisonous  plants—To  preserve  Flowers  and  Plants 

337—142 


INTRODUCTION. 


IT  has  been  well  remarked,  that  a  garden  affords 
the  purest  of  human  pleasures.  The  study  of 
Nature  is  interesting  in  all  her  manifold  combina 
tions  :  in  her  wildest  attitudes,  and  in  her  artful 
graces.  The  mind  is  amused,  charmed,  and  aston 
ished  in  turn,  with  contemplating  her  inexhausti 
ble  display  ;  and  we  worship  the  God  who  crea 
ted  such  pure  and  simple  blessings  for  his  crea 
tures.  These  blessings  are  open  to  all  degrees 
and  condition  of  men.  Nature  is  not  a  boon 
bestowed  upon  the  high-born,  or  purchased  by 
the  wealthy  at  a  kingly  price.  The  poor,  the 
blind,  the  halt,  and  the  diseased,  enjoy  her  beauty, 
and  derive  benefit  from  her  study.  Every  cottager 
enjoys  the  little  garden  which  furnishes  his  table 
with  comforts,  and  his  mind  with  grateful  feel 
ings,  if  that  mind  is  susceptible  of  religous  im 
pressions.  He  contemplates  the  gracious  Provi 
dence  which  has  bestowed  such  means  of  enjoy 
ment  upon  him,  as  the  Father  whose  all-seeing 
eye  provides  for  the  lowliest  of  his  children  ;  and 
who  has  placed  the  "purest  of  human  pleasures" 
within  the  reach  of  all  who  are  not  too  blind  to 
behold  his  mercy.  With  this  blessed  view  before 
his  mental  sight,  the  cottager  cultivates  his  little 
2 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

homestead.  The  flowers  and  fruits  of  the  eartji 
bud,  bloom,  and  decay  in  their  season,  but  Nature 
again  performs  her  deputed  mission,  and  spring 
succeeds  the  dreary  winter  with  renewed  beauh- 
and  two-fold  increase.  Health  accompanies  sim 
ple  and  natural  pleasures.  The  culture  of  the 
ground  affords  a  vast  and  interminable  field  of 
observation,  in  which  the  mind  ranges  with  sin 
gular  pleasure,  though  the  body  travels  not.  It 
surrounds  home  with  an  unceasing  interest;  do 
mestic  scenes  become  endeared  to  the  eye  and 
mind  ;  worldly  cares  recede  ;  and  we  may  iruh' 
say — 

"For  us  kind  Nature  wakes  her  genial  power, 
Suckles  each  herb,  and  spreads  out  every  flower  ! 
Annual  for  us,  the  grape,  the  rose,  renew 
The  juice  nectarious,  and  the  balmy  dew  : 
For  us,  the  mine  a  thousand  treasures  brings  ; 
For  us,  health  gushes  from  a  thousand  springs." 

Etlt.  ep.  i.  ver.  129. 

The  taste  for  gardening  in  England,  began  to 
display  itself  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III.,  in  whose 
time  the  first  work  on  the  subject  was  composed  by 
Walter  de  Henly.  Flour-gardening  followed 
slowly  in  its  train.  The  learned  Linacre,  who 
died  in  1524,  introduced  the  damask  rose  from 
Italy  into  England.  King  James  I.  of  Scotland, 
when  a  prisoner  at  Windsor  Castle,  thus  describes 
its  "  most  faire"  garden  : — 

"Now  was  there  maide  fast  by  the  towris  wall. 
A  garden  farre,  and  in  the  corneris  set 

An  herbere  green,  with  wandis  long  and  small 
Railit  about  and  so  with  treeis  set 
Was  all  the  place,  and  hawthorn  hedges  knet, 
That  lyfe  was  now  walking  there  forbye, 
That  might  within  scarce  any  wight  espie , 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

So  thick  the  bowis  and  the  levesgrene 

Berchudit  all,  the  alleyes  all  that  there  were  ; 
And  inyddis  every  herbere  might  be  sene 
The  scharpe  grene  swete  junipere 
Growing  so  fair,  with  branches  here  and  there, 
That,  as  it  seymt  to  alyfe  without, 
The  bowis  spred  the  herbere  all  about" 

The  Quair. 

Henry  VIII.  ordered  the  formation  of  his  gar 
den  at  Nonsuch  about  the  year  1509,  and  Leland 
says  it  was  a  "  Nonpareil."  Hentyner  assures  us 
of  its  perfect  beauty,  describing  one  of  its  marble 
basins  as  being  set  round  with  "lilac  trees,  which 
trees  bear  no  fruit,  but  only  a  pleasant  smell." 

The  pleasure-gardens  at  Theobalds,  the  seat  of 
Lord  Burleigh,  were  a  unique,  according  to  the 
report  of  Lyson.  In  it  were  nine  knots  exqui 
sitely  made,  one  of  which  was  set  forth  in  likeness 
of  the  king's  arms.  "One  might  walk  two  myle 
in  the  walks  before  he  came  to  an  end." 

Queen  Elizabeth  was  extremely  fond  of  flowers, 
and  her  taste  ever  influenced  that  of  her  court. 
Gillifloweis,  carnations,  tulips,  Provence  and  musk 
roses,  were  brought  to  England  in  her  reign. 

William  III.  loved  a  pleasaunce  or  pleasure- 
garden  ;  but  he  introduced  the  Dutch  fashion  of 
laying  them  out.,  which  is  still  horrible  in  our  eyes. 
His  queen  superintended  in  person  all  her  ar 
rangements  in  the  flower-garden, — an  amusement 
particularly  delightful  to  her.  In  those  days, 
"  knottes  and  mazes"  were  no  longer  the  pride  of  a 
parterre,  with  a  due  allowance  of  "  pleasant  and 
fair  fishponds." 

Queen  Anne  remodeled  the  gardens  at  Kensing 
ton,  and  did  away  with  the  Dutch  inventions. 
Hampton  Court  was  also  laid  out  in  a  more  perfect 
state  in  her  reign,  under  the  directron  of  Wise. 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

Since  that  period,  flower-gardening  has  progress 
ed  rapidly  ;  and  the  amusement  of  floriculture  has 
become  the  dominant  passion  of  the  ladies  of  Grea; 
Britain.  It  is  a  passion  most  blessed  in  its  effects, 
considered  as  an  amusemnt  or  a  benefit.  Nothing- 
humanizes  and  adorns  the  female  mind  more  surely 
than  a  taste  for  ornamental  gardening.  It  compels 
the  reason  to  act,  and  the  judgment  to  observe  ;  i< 
is  favorable  to  meditation  oif  the  most  serious  kind 
it  exercises  the  fancy  in  harmless  and  elegant  oc 
cupation,  and  braces  the  system  by  its  healthfu 
tendency.  •  A  flower-garden,  to  the  young  and  sin 
gle  of  my  sex,  acts  upon  the  heart  and  affections- 
as  a  nursery  acts  upon  the  matronly  feelings.  Ir 
attaches  them  to  their  home  ;  it  throws  a  powerful 
charm  over  the  spot  dedicated  to  such  deeply  inter 
esting  employment ;  and  it  lures  them  from  dwell 
ing  too  deeply  upon  the  unavoidable  disappoint 
ments  and  trials  of  life,  which  sooner  or  later  dis 
turb  and  disquiet  the  heart. 

An  amusement  which  kings  and  princes  have 
stamped  with  dignity,  and  which  has  afforded  them 
recreation  under  the  toils  of  government,  must  be 
come  for  ever  venerated,  and  will  be  sought  for  by 
every  elegant  as  well  as  by  every  scientific  mind. 
Floriculture  ranges  itself  under  the  head  of  female 
accomplishments  in  these  our  days  ;  and  we  turn 
with  pity  from  the  spirit  which  will  not  find  in  her 
"  garden  of  roses"  the  simplest  and  purest  of 
pleasures. 


13 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    REMARKS. 

IN  the  laying  out  of  a  garden,  the  soil  and  situation 
must  be  considered  as  much  as  the  nature  of  the 
ground  will  admit.  Let  no  lady,  however,  despair 
of  being  able  to  raise  fine  flowers  upon  any  soil, 
providing  the  sun  is  not  too  much  excluded,  for  the 
rays  of  the  sun  are  the  vital  principle  of  existence 
to  all  vegetation.  The  too  powerful  rays  can  be 
warded  off  by  the  arts  of  invention,  but  we  have 
yet  no  substitute  for  that  glorious  orb.  Unless  its 
warm  and  forcing  influence  is  allowed  to  extend 
over  the  surface  of  the  garden,  all  flowers  wither, 
languish,  and  die.  Sun  and  air  are  the  lungs  and 
heart  of  flowers.  A  lady  will  be  rewarded  for  her 
trouble  in  making  her  parterre  in  the  country  ;  but 
in  large  towns,  under  the  influence  of  coal  smoke, 
shade,  and  gloom,  her  lot  will  be  constant  disap 
pointment.  She  can  only  hope  to  keep  a  few  con 
sumptive  geraniums  languishing  through  the  sum 
mer  months,  to  die  in  October,  and  show  the  deso 
lating  view  of  rows  of  pots  contaning  blackened 
and  dusty  stems. 

Many  soils  which  are  harsh  or  arid,  are  suscep 
tible  of  improvement  by  a  little  pains.  Thus,  a 
stiff  clay,  by  digging  well  and  leaving  it  to  become 
pulverized  by  the  action  of  the  frost,  and  then  mix- 


14  IMPROVEMENT    OF    SOILS. 

ing  plenty  of  ashes  with  it,  becomes  a  fine  mould , 
which  I  have  ever  found  most  excellent  for  al 
flowers  of  the  hardier  kind.  The  black  soil  is  the 
richest  in  itself,  and  requires  no  assistance  beyonc 
changing  it  about  a  foot  in  depth  every  three  years, 
as  a  flower-garden  requires  renewing,  if  a  lady  ex 
pects  a  succession  of  handsome  flowers.  Tho 
ground  should  be  well  dug  the  latter  end  of  Sep 
tember  or  October,  or  even  in  November,  and  if  tht 
soil  is  not  sufficiently  fine,  let  it  be  dug  over  a  se 
cond  or  third  time,  and  neatly  raked  with  a  very 
fine-toothed  rake. 

Stony  ground  requires  riddling  well,  and  grea; 
care  must  be  taken  to  keep  it  neat  by  picking  uj> 
the  little  stones  which  constantly  force  themselves 
to  the  surface  after  rains.  Nothing  is  so  unbe 
coming  as  weeds  and  stones  in  parterres,  where; 
the  eye  seeks  flowers  and  neatness. 

Almost  every  plant  loves  sand ;  and  if  that  can 
be  procured,  it  enriches  and  nourishes  the  soil, 
especially  for  bulbs,  pinks,  carnations,  auriculas, 
hyacinths,  &c.  Let  it  be  mixed  in  the  proportion 
of  a  third  part  to  the  whole. 

If  dead  leaves  are  swept  into  a  mound  every 
autumn  and  the  soap  suds,  brine,  &c.  of  the  house 
be  thrown  upon  it,  the  mass  will  quickly  decom 
pose  and  become  available  the  following  year.  It 
makes  an  admirable  compost  for  auriculas,  &c., 
mixed  with  garden  or  other  mould. 

If  the  ground  be  a  gravelly  soil,  the  flower  gar 
den  should  not  slope,  for  stony  ground  requires  all 
the  moisture  you  can  give  it,  while  the  sloping  sit 
uation  would  increase  the  heat  and  dryness.  A 
moist  earth,  on  the  contrary,  would  be  improved  by 
being  sloped  towards  the  east  or  west. 


ASPECT    FOR    FLOWERS.  15 

The  south  is  not  so  proper  for  flowers,  as  a  glar 
ing  sun  withers  the  tender  flowers  ;  but  the  north 
must  be  carefully  avoided,  and  shut  out  by  a  laurel 
hedge,  a  wall,  or  any  rural  fence  garnished  with 
hardy  creepers,  or  monthly  roses,  which  make  a 
gay  and  agreeable  defence.  Monthly  roses  are  in 
valuable  as  auxiliaries  of  all  kinds.  They  will 
grow  in  any  soil,  and  bloom  through  the  winter 
months,  always  give  a  delicate  fragrance,  and 
smiling  even  in  the  snow.  Monthly  roses  will 
ever  be  the  florist's  delight :  they  are  the  hardiest, 
most  delicate-looking,  and  greenest-leaved  of  gar 
den  productions  ;  they  give  no  trouble,  and  speedi 
ly  form  a  beautiful  screen  against  any  offensive  ob 
ject.  No  flower-garden  should  exist  without  abun 
dance  of  monthly  roses. 

It  has  often  been  a  disputed  point  whether  flow 
er-gardens  should  be  intersected  with  gravel  walks 
or  with  grass  plots.  This  must  be  left  entirely  to 
the  taste  and  means  of  the  party  forming  a  garden. 
Lawn  is  as  wet  and  melancholy  in  the  winter 
months,  as  it  is  beautiful  and  desirable  in  summer  ; 
and  it  requires  great  care  and  attention  in  mowing 
and  rolling,  and  trimming  around  the  border.  Gravel 
walks  have  this  advantage  :  the  first  trouble  is  the 
last.  They  will  only  require  an  old  woman's  or  a 
child's  assistance  in  keeping  them  free  from  weeds  ; 
and  a  lady  has  not  the  same  fears  of  taking  cold, 
or  getting  wet  in  her  feet,  during  the  rains  of  au 
tumn  and  spring. 

Many  females  are  unequal  to  the  fatigue  of  bend 
ing  down  to  flowers,  and  particularly  object  to  the 
stooping  posture.  In  this  case,  ingenuity  alone  is 
required  to  raise  the  flowers  to  a  convenient  height ; 
and,  by  so  doing,  to  increase  the  beauty  and  pic- 


16  RUSTIC    STAGES. 

turesque  appearance  of  the  garden.  Old  barrels 
cut  in  half,  tubs,  pails,  &c.,  neatly  painted  outside, 
or  adorned  with  rural  ornaments,  and  raised  upor 
feet  neatly  carved,  or  mounds  of  earth,  stand  ir 
lieu  of  richer  materials,  such  as  vases,  parape, 
walls,  and  other  expensive  devices,  which  orna 
ment  the  gardens  of  the  wealtby.  I  have  seer 
these  humble  materials  shaped  into  forms  as  pleas 
ing  to  the  eye,  and  even  more  consonant  to  oui 
damp  climate,  than  marble  vases.  They  never 
look  green  from  time,  and  are  renewed  at  a  very 
trifling  expense.  A  few  pounds  of  nails  and  the 
unbarked  thinnings  from  fir  plantations,  are  the 
sole  requisites  tovvads  forming  any  device  which  r, 
tasteful  fancy  can  dictate ;  and  a  little  green  pain 
adds  beauty  and  durability  when  the  bark  falls 
from  the  wood  it  protects.  I  have  seen  fir  balls- 
nailed  on  to  these  forms  in  tasteful  patterns  ;  and 
creepers  being  allowed  to  fall  gracefully  over  the 
brims,  give  a  remarkably  pleasing  and  varied  ap 
pearance  to  the  parterre. 

Where  mould  is  not  easily  to  be  procured — as, 
for  instance,  in  towns — the  tubs  or  receptacles 
may  be  half  filled  with  any  kind  of  rubble  only 
space  must  be  left  to  allow  of  two  feet  of  fine 
mould  at  the  top,  which  is  quite  sufficient  for  bulb 
ous  roots  and  creepers,  &c.  These  receptacles  have 
one  powerful  advantage  over  ground  plots  :  they 
can  be  moved  under  sheds,  or  into  outhouses, 
during  the  heavy  rains  or  frosts  of  winter  ;  and 
thereby  enable  a  lady  to  preserve  the  more  delicate 
flowers,  which  would  deteriorate  by  constant  ex 
posure  to  inclement  weather. 

A  lady  requires  peculiar  tools  for  her  light  work. 
She  should  possess  a  light  spade  ;  two  rakes,  one 


LADIES'  GARDEN  TOOLS.  17 

with  very  fine  teeth,  and  the  other  a  size  larger, 
for  cleaning  the  walks  when  they  are  raked,  and 
for  raking  the  large  stones  from  the  garden  bor 
ders.  A  light  garden  fork  is  very  necessary  to 
take  up  bulbous  or  other  roots  with,  as  the  spade 
would  wound  and  injure  them,  whereas  they  pass 
safely  through  the  interstices  of  the  fork  or  prong. 
A  watering-pot  is  indispensable,  and  a  hoe.  Two 
trowels  are  likewise  necessary  :  one  should  be  of  a 
tolerable  size,  to  transplant  perennial  and  biennial 
flower  roots  ;  the  other  should  be  pointed  and  small, 
to  transplant  the  more  delicate  roots  of  anemones, 
bulbs,  &c. 

The  pruning-knife  must  be  always  sharp,  and,  in 
shape  it  should  bend  a  little  inwards,  to  facilitate 
cutting  away  straggling  or  dead  shoots,  branches, 
&c.  The  "  avroncator"  lately  so  much  in  request, 
is  an  admirable  instrument ;  but  it  is  expensive, 
and  of  most  importance  in  shrubberies,  where 
heavy  branches  are  to  be  cut  away.  The  Sieur 
Louis  d'Auxerre,  who  wrote  a  work  upon  garden 
ing  in  1706,  has  a  sketch  of  the  avroncator  of  the 
present  day,  which  he  designates  as  caterpillar 
shears. 

A  light  pair  of  shears,  kept  always  in  good 
order,  is  necessary  to  keep  privet  or  laurel  hedges 
properly  clipped  ;  and  a  stout,  deep  basket  must  be 
deposited  in  the  tool-shed,  to  contain  the  weeds 
and  clippings.  These  are  the  only  tools  absolute 
ly  essential  to  a  lady's  garden.  I  have  seen  a  great 
variety  decorating  the  wall  of  an  amateur  tool- 
house,  but  they  must  have  been  intended  for  show, 
not  for  use.  A  real  artiste,  in  whatever  profession 
she  may  engage,  will  only  encumber  herself  with 
essentials.  All  else  is  superfluous. 


18  LADIES'  WORKING  DRESS. 

I  have  reserved  two  especially  necessary  recom 
mendations  to  the  last,  being  comforts  independcrt 
of  the  tool-house.  Every  lady  should  be  furnishe  1 
with  a  gardening  apron,  composed  of  stout  Ho  - 
land,  with  ample  pockets  to  contain  her  prunino- 
knife,  a  small,  stout  hammer,  a  ball  of  string,  an  1 
a  few  nails  and  snippings  of  cloth.  Have  nothing 
to  do  with  scissors  :  they  are  excellent  in  the  work 
room,  but  dangerous  in  a  flower-garden,  as  the;/ 
wrench  and  wound  the  stems  of  flowers.  Th  3 
knife  cuts  slanting,  which  is  the  proper  way  cf 
taking  off  .slips  ;  and  the  knife  is  sufficient  for  ail 
the  purposes  of  a  flower-garden,  even  for  cutting 
string. 

The  second  article  which  I  pronounce  to  be  in 
dispensable,  is  a  pair  of  India  rubber  shoes,  or  th  i 
wooden  high-heeled  shoes  called  "  sabots"  by  th-3 
French.  In  these  protections,  a  lady  may  indulge 
her  passions  for  flowers  at  all  seasons,  without  risk 
of  rheumatism  or  chills,  providing  it  does  not 
actually  rain  or  snow  ;  and  the  cheering  influence 
of  the  fresh  air  combined  with  a  favorite  amuse 
ment,  must  ever  operate  beneficially  on  the  mind 
and  body  in  every  season  of  the  year. 


19 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON    LAYING    OUT. 

THERE  are  many  modes  of  adorning  a  small  piece 
of  ground,  so  as  to  contain  gay  flowers  and  plants, 
and  appear  double  its  real  size.  By  covering  every 
wall  or  palisade  with  monthly  roses  and  creepers  of 
every  kind,  no  space  is  lost,  and  unsightly  objects 
even  contribute  to  the  genaral  effect  of  a  "  Plais- 
aunce."  The  largest  flowers,  such  as  hollyhocks, 
sunflowers,  &c.,  look  to  the  best  advantage  as  a 
back  ground,  either  planted  in  clumps,  or  arranged 
singly.  Scarlet  lychnis,  campanula,  or  any  second- 
sized  flowers,  may  range  themselves  below,  and  so 
in  graduated  order,  till  the  eye  reposes  upon  a  fore 
ground  of  pansies,  auriculas,  polyanthuses,  and  in 
numerable  humbler  beauties.  Thus  all  are  seen  in 
their  order,  and  present  a  mass  of  superb  coloring 
to  the  observer,  none  interfering  with  the  other. 
The  hollyhock  does  not  shroud  the  lowly  pansy 
from  displaying  its  bright  tints  of  yellow  and  pur 
ple  ;  neither  can  the  sturdy  and  gaudy  sunflower 
hide  the  modest  double  violet  or  smartly  clad  ane 
mone  from  observation.  Each  flower  is  by  this 
mode  of  planting  distinctly  seen,  and  each  con 
tributes  its  beauty  and  its  scent,  by  receiving  the 
beams  of  the  sun  in  equal  proportions. 

If  the  trunk  of  a  tree  stands  tolerably  free  from 
deep  overshadowing  branches,  twine  the  creeping 


20  THE    ROOT    HOUSE. 

rose,  the  late  honeysuckle,  or  the  everlasting  pe;i 
round  its  stem,  that  every  inch  of  ground  may  be 
come  available.  The  tall,  naked  stem  of  the  young 
ash  looks  well,  festooned  with  roses  and  honey 
suckles.  Wherever  creeping  flowering  plants  can 
live,  let  them  adorn  every  nook  and  corner,  stem, 
wall,  and  post :  they  are  elegant  in  appearance, 
and  many  of  them,  particularly  clematis,  are  deli 
cious  in  fragrant  scent. 

If  flowers  are  planted  in  round  or  square  plots, 
the  same  rule  applies  in  arranging  them.  The  tall 
est  must  be  placed  in  the  centre,  but  I  reccomend  i 
lady  to  banish  sunflowers  and  hollyhocks  from  her 
plots,  and  consign  them  to  broad  borders  against  i 
wall,  or  in  clumps  of  three  and  three,  as  a  scree  i 
against  the  north,  or  against  any  unsightly  objec'. 
Their  large  roots  draw  so  much  nourishmeut  fron 
the  ground,  that  the  lesser  plants  suffer,  and  tho 
soil  becomes  quickly  exhausted.  Like  gluttons, 
they  should  feed  alone,  or  their  companions  will 
languish  in  starvation,  and  become  impoverished. 
The  wren  cannot  feed  with  the  vulture. 

The  south  end  or  corner  of  a  moderate  flower 
garden  should  be  fixed  upon  for  the  erection  of  a 
root  house,  which  is  not  an  expensive  undertaking, 
and  which  forms  a  picturesque  as  well  as  a  most 
useful  appendage  to  a  lady's  parterre.  Thinnings 
of  plantations,  which  are  every  where  procured  at 
a  very  moderate  charge,  rudely  shaped  and  nailed 
into  any  fancied  form  may  supply  all  that  is  need 
ful  to  the  little  inclosure  ;  and  a  thatch  of  straw, 
rushes,  or  heather,  will  prove  a  sure  defense  to  the 
roof  and  back.  There  a  lady  may  display  her 
taste  by  the  beauty  of  the  flowers  which  she  may 
train  through  the  rural  frame-work.  There,  the 
moss-rose,  the  jessamine,  the  honeysuckle,  the  con- 


CLASSES    OF    FLOWERS.  21 

volvulus,  and  many  other  bright  and  beautiful  flow 
ers  may  escape  and  cluster  around  her,  as  she  re 
ceives  rest  and  shelter  within  their  grateful  lattice 
work.  There,  also,  may  be  deposited  the  imple 
ments  of  her  vocation  ;  and  during  the  severe 
weather,  its  warm  precincts  will  protect  the  finer 
kinds  of  carnations,  pinks,  auriculas,  &c. ,  which 
do  not  bear  the  heavy  rains,  or  frost  of  lengthened 
duration,  without  injuring  the  plant. 

Flowers  are  divided  into  three  classes : — an 
nuals,  biennals,  perennials. 

Annuals  are  those  flowers  which  are  raised  from 
seeds  alone,  in  the  spring,  and  which  die  in  the 
autumn.  They  are  again  divided  into  three  classes  ; 
tender  and  more  curious  kinds  ;  the  less  tender 
or  hardier  kinds ;  and  the  hardiest  and  common 
kinds. 

Biennials  are  those  flowers  which  are  produced 
by  seed,  bloom  the  second  year,  and  remain  two 
years  in  perfection ;  after  which  they  gradually 
dwindle  and  die  away. 

Some  sorts,  however,  of  the  biennials,  afford  a 
continuation  of  plants  by  offsets,  slips,  and  cuttings 
of  the  tops,  and  by  layers  and  pipings,  so  that, 
though  the  parent  flower  dies,  the  species  are  per 
petuated,  particularly  to  continue  curious  double- 
flowered  kinds,  as  for  instance,  double  rockets,  by 
root  offsets,  and  cuttings  of  the  young  flower-stalks  ; 
double  wallflowers  by  slips  of  the  small  top  shoots  ; 
jdouble  sweet-williams  by  layers  and  pipings  ;  and 
carnations  by  layers. 

Perennials    are    those   flowers   which    continue 
many  years,  and  are  so  propagated  by  root  offsets, 
suckers,  parting  roots,   &c.,  as  will  be  more  fully 
particularlized  under  the  head  of  Perennials. 
3 


22  PLANTING    OF    BEDS. 

It  has  been  a  debated  point  among  florists,  wheth 
er  plots  or  baskets  should  be  devoted  each  to  a  par 
ticular  variety  of  flower,  or  receive  flowers  of  dif 
ferent  kinds,  flowering  at  seperate  seasons.  Thus, 
many  ladies  set  apart,  one  plot  of  ground  for  ane 
mones  only — another  plot  receives  only  pansies, 
and  so  on.  There  is  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides 
the  question. 

If  a  plot  of  ground  is  devoted  to  one  variety  of 
flower  only,  you  can  give  it  the  appropriate  mould, 
and  amuse  your  eye  with  its  expanse  of  bright  col 
oring.  Nothing  is  more  beautiful  than  a  bed  of 
pansies,  or  a  bed  of  the  bright  and  glowing  scarlet 
verbina ;  nothing  can  exceed  the  gay  and  flaunt  ,r 
tints  of  a  bed  of  tulips,  or  the  rich  hues  of  the  lila  3 
and  the  white  petunia.  A  large  space  of  garde;  i 
allows  its  possessor  to  revel  in  seperate  beds  cf 
flowers,  whose  beauty  is  increased  two-fold  bv 
masses  ;  and  from  that  very  space,  the  eye  does 
not  so  easily  discover  the  melancholy  appearance 
of  one  or  more  plots  exhibiting  nothing  but  dark 
mould,  and  withered  stems,  arising  from  the  earlier 
sorts  being  out  of  bloom. 

But  in  less  spacious  gardens,  this  gloomy  and 
mournful  vacuum  must  be  avoided.  Every  border 
and  plot  of  ground  should  exhibit  a  gay  succession 
of  flowers  in  bloom  ;  and  that  object  can  only  be 
effected  by  a  pretty  equal  distribution  of  flowers  of 
early  and  late  growth.  As  the  May  flowers  droop, 
the  June  productions  supply  their  place  ;  and  these, 
again,  are  followed  in  succession  till  the  Golden 
rod  and  Michaelmas  daisy  announce  the  decadence 
of  the  parterre  for  the  year. 

Yet  every  flower  may  be  supplied  with  its  favor 
ite  soil,  with  a  little  patience  and  observation.  A 


MONTHLY    LIST. 


23 


light  soil  suits  all  descriptions  very  well ;  and  I 
never  yet  found  disappointment  in  any  description 
of  earth  which  was  thoroughly  well  dug,  and  dress 
ed  yearly  from  the  mound  of  accumulated  leaves 
and  soap-suds,  alluded  to  in  the  first  chapter.  I 
particularly  recommend  a  portion  of  sand  mixed 
with  the  heap.  All  bulbs,  carnations,  pinks,  auric 
ulas,  ranunculuses,  &c.,  love  a  mixture  of  sand. 
I  know  no  flowers  of  the  hardy  class  which  reject 
it.  Mix  sand  well  into  your  borders  and  plots,  and 
you  will  not  fail  to  have  handsome  flowers. 

I  subjoin  a  list  of  common  flowers  appertaining 
to  each  month,  in  order  to  fill  the  borders  with  one 
or  more  roots  of  each  variety.  I  do  not  include 
the  annuals. 


In  this  month  the  following  flowers  are  in  blow 
Single  Anemones  I  Primroses 

Winter  Cyclamens  |  Winter  Hyacinth 

Michaelmas  Daisy  Narcissus  of  the  east 

Hepaticas  |  Christmas  rose 


Single  Anemones 
Forward  Anemones 
Persian  Iris 
Cpring  Crocus 


FEBRUARY. 


Single  yellow  Gilliflower 
Single  Liverwoit 
Winter  Aconite 
Hepaticas 


Bulbous  Iris 
Anemones  of  all  sorts 
Spring  Cyclamens 
Liverwort  of  all  sorts 
Daffodils 
Crowfoots 
Spring  Crocus 
Hyacinths  of  all  sorts 


Jonquils 

Yellow  Gilliflower 
Narcissus  of  several  kinds 
Forward  Bear's-ears 
Forward  Tulips 
Single    Primroses  of  divers 
colors 


24 


MONTHLY    LIST. 


Daisies 

Yellow  Gilliflowers 

Narcissus  of  all  sorts 
Foward   Bear's-ears 
Spring  Cyclamens 
Crocus, otherwise  called  Saff 
ron-flowers 
Anemones  of  all  sorts 
Iris 

Pansies 
Daffodils 


Double  Liverworts 

Primroses 

Honeysuckles 

Tulips 

Hyacinths 

Single  Jonquils 

Crown-Imperial 

Yellow    Gilliflowers,    doubl. 

and  single 
Pasqne -Flowers 
March    Violets 


Anemones 

Gilliflowers  of  all  sorts 

Yellow  Gilliflowers 

Columbines 

Asphodils 

Orange,      or     flame-colored 

Lilies 

Cyanuses  of  all  sorts 
Hyacinths 
Day  Lilies 
Bastard  Dittany 
Daisies 

Lily  of  the  valley 
Mountain  Pinks 


Double  Jacea,  a  sort  of  Lych 
nis 

Pansies 

Peonies  of  all  sorts 

Ranunculuses  of  all  sorts 

Some  Irises  :  as  those  which 
we  call  the  Bulbous  Iris, 
and  the  Chamsc-Iris 

Italian  Spiderwort,  a  sort  of 
Asphodil 

Poet's  pinks 

Backward  Tulips 

Julians,  otherwise  called  Eng 
lish  Gilliflowers 


Snap-dragons  of  all  sorts 

\Vild  Tansies 

Pinks,  otherwise  called  Lych- 

I  rises  [nises 

Roses 

Tuberoses 

Pansies 

Larkspur 

Great  Daises 


Climbers 

Cyanuses  of  all  sorts 
Foxgloves  of  all  sorts 
Mountain  Lilies 
Gilliflowers  of  all  sorts 
Monks'-hoods 
Pinks  of  all  sorts 
Candy-tufts 
Poppies 


Jessamine 
Spaniah    Broom 
Basils 


Pinks  of  the  Poets 

Bee-flowers 

Sea-hollies 


MONTHLY    LIST. 


25 


Bell  flowers 

Indian  Jacea 

Great  Daises 

Monks'-hoods 

Pinks 

Scabiuses 

NigeUaa 

Cyclamens 

Lobel's  Catch-flies 

Lilies  of  all  sorts 

Apples  of  Love 

Comfrey 

Poppies 

Snap-dragons 

Double  Marigolds 

Amaranthuses 

Hellebore 

Ox-eyes 


Foxgloves 

Wild  Poppies 

Everlastings 

Roses 

Dittanies 

Bindweeds 

Lilies  of  St.  Bruno 

Tricolors 

Squills 

Motherworts 

Climbers 

Oculus  Christi 

Camomile 

Sunflowers 

Belvederes 

Gilliflower?  of  all  sorts 

Thorn-apple 

Valerian 


Oculus     Christi,     otherwise 

called  Starwort 
Belvederes 
Climbers  of  al!  sorts 
Apples  of  Love 
Marvels  of  Peru 
Pansies 
Ranunculuses 
Double  Marigolds 
Candy-tufts 
Autumn  Cyclamens 
Jessamines 
Sunflowers,    vivacious     and 

annual 


Indian  Narcissus 

Foxgloves 

Cyclamens 

Passion  flowers 

Everlastings 

Tuberoses 

Monks'-hood 

Indian  Pinks  of  all  the  kinds 

Bindweed 

Passve  lours 

Great  Daises 

White  Bell-flower 

Autumnal   Meadow    Saffron 

Gilliflowers 


SEPTEMBER. 


Tricolors 
Love-Apples 
Marvel  of  Peru 
Monks'-hood 
Narcissus  of  Portugal 
Snap  Dragons 
Oculus  Christi 


3* 


Amaryllis 

Autumnal  Narcissus 
White  Bell-flowers 
Indian  Pinks 
Indian  Roses 
Amaranthus 
Pansies 


26 


RABBITS    A    NUISANCE. 


Basils 
Belvederes 
Great  Daisies 
Double  Marigolds 
Monthly  Hoses 
Tuberoses 


Passion  flower 

Autumnal  Crocus 

Thorn  apple 

Carnations 

Ranunculuses  planted  in  May 

Colchicums 


Tricolors 
Oculus  Christ! 
Snap-Dragons 

Colchicums 
Autumn  Crocus 
Autumnal  Cyclamens 
Monks'  hood 
Indian  Pinks 


Pansies  that  were  sown    in 

August 

Passion  flower 
Pass  velours 
Double  Marigolds 
Some  Pinks 
Amaryllis 
Autumnal  Narcissus 


NOVEMBER. 


Snap-Dragons 

Double  and  Single  Gilliflow- 

ers 

Great  Daisies 
Pansies  sown  in  August 
Monthly  Roses 


Double  Violets 
Single  Anemones  of  all  sorts 
Winter  Cyclamens 
Foward  Hellebore 
Golden  Rod 


Rabbits  are  an  intolerable  nuisance  in  a  flower 
garden,  and  in  some  country  places  they  abound 
most  destructively.  A  light  wire  fence  about  two 
feet  high,  closely  lattice-worked,  or  a  net  of  the 
same  height,  carried  around  the  garden,  is  a  sure 
defence  Horn  these  marauders.  But  where  these 
conveniences  are  unattainable,  there  are  other 
modes  which  answer  the  purpose,  but  they  require 
a  little  trouble  and  patience. 

It  is  the  well-known  nature  of  Rabbits  and 
Hares  to  dislike  climbing  or  entangling  their  feet  ; 
and  very  simple  inventions  deter  them  from  at 
tempting  to  gnaw  the  roots  arid  the  hearts  of  flowers. 
They  will  riot  walk  upon  straw  or  ashes  strewed 


SNAILS    AND    EARWIGS.  27 

thickly  round  any  plant :  they  equally  dislike  a 
fence  of  sticks  placed  around  a  plot,  with  bits  of 
white  paper  or  card  fastened  to  each  stick ;  or  a 
string  carried  around  the  sticks  a  foot  or  two  high. 
If  they  cannot  creep  under  a  slight  fence,  they 
never  attempt  to  leap  over  it.  If  a  stick  is  run  into 
the  ground  close  to  a  plant,  and  other  sticks  are 
slanted  from  the  ground  towards  that  centre,  the 
plant  will  remain  untouched,  be  the  frost  of  ever  so 
long  duration. 

Snails  are  disagreeable  intruders,  but  the  follow 
ing  method  is  an  exterminating  war  of  short  dura 
tion  : — 

Throw  cabbage  leaves  upon  your  borders  over 
night ;  in  the  morning  early,  you  will  find  them 
covered  underneath  with  snails,  which  have  taken 
refuge  there.  Thus  they  are  easily  taken  and 
destroyed. 

Earwigs  are  taken  in  numbers  by  hanging  galli 
pots,  tubes,  or  any  such  receptacle,  upon  low  sticks 
in  the  borders  over  night.  In  these  they  shelter 
themselves,  and  are  consequently  victimized  in  the 
morning.  The  gallipots,  broken  bottles,  &c.  should 
be  placed  upon  the  stick  like  a  man's  hat,  that  the 
vermin  may  ascend  into  them. 

Ants  are  very  great  enemies  to  flowers  ;  but  I 
know  no  method  of  attacking  them,  except  in  their 
own  strongholds,  which  I  have  always  done  with 
cruel  intrepidity  and  success.  My  only  plan  was 
to  lay  open  the  little  ant-hill,  and  pour  boiling  water 
upon  the  busy  insects,  which  destroyed  at  once  the 
commonwealth,  and  the  eggs  deposited  within  the 
mound.  In  some  places  ants  are  extremely  large 


28  MILDEW    AND    BLIGHT. 

aud  abundant  and  tliey  quickly  destroy  the  beauty 
of  a  flower,  by  attacking  its  roots  and  heart.* 

Mildew  and  blight  infest  roses  and  honeysuckels. 
Soap-suds  thrown  over  rose-bushes,  heavy  water 
ings  with  tobacco-water,  or  the  water  in  which  po 
tatoes  have  been  boiled,  is  successful  in  a  degree, 
but  the  best  way  is  a  very  troublesome  one  to  per 
severe  in.  Pinch  every  leaf  well  which  curls  up, 
by  which  you  may  know  a  small  magot  is  depos 
ited  therein.  By  so  doing  you  destroy  the  germ  of 
a  thousand  little  monsters. 

Mildew  and  blight  come  from  the  east ;  there 
fore  honeysuckles  should  be  sheltered  from  that 
aspect  ;  for  as  they  rise  and  spread  widely,  they 
are  not  so  manageable  as  a  rose-bush.  A  mass  of 
luxuriant  honeysuckles  is  beatiful  to  the  eye  and 
delicious  in  fragrance  ;  but  covered  with  mildew,  it 
is  a  blackened  and  miserable  object.  Mildew,  for 
tunately,  does  not  make  its  appearance  every 
spring ;  but  once  in  four  or  live  years  it  comes  as 
a  plague,  to  desolate  the  garden.  A  great  deal 
may  be  raked  away,  if  taken  oft'  as  soon  as  it 
spreads  its  cobweb  over  these  lovely  flowers ;  but 
it  should  be  done  without  delay. 

I  cannot  lay  too  great  stress  upon  the  neatness  in 
which  a  lady's  garden  should  be  kept.  If  it  is  not 
beautifully  neat,  it  is  nothing.  For  this  reason 
keep  every  plant  distinct  in  the  flower-bed ;  let 
every  tall  flower  be  well  staked,  that  the  wind  may 


*  The  Emperor  Pagonatus,  who  wrote  a  treatise  upon 
agriculture,  assures  us,  that  to  clear  a  garden  of  ants,  we 
should  burn  empty  snail  shells  with  storax  wood,  arid  throw 
the  ashes  upon  the  ant-hills,  which  obliges  them  to  remove. 
I  never  tried  this  method. 


DEFINITION    OF    TER.MS.  29 

not  blow  it  prostrate  ;  rake  away  dead  leaves  from 
the  beds,  and  trim  every  flower-root  from  discolored 
leaves,  weeds,  &c. ;  remove  all  weeds  and  stones 
the  moment  they  appear,  and  clear  away  decaying 
stems,  which  are  so  littering  and  offensive  to  the 
eye.  There  is  always  some  employment  of  this 
kind  for  every  week  in  the  year. 

Old  iron  rods,  both  large  and  small,  are  to  be 
procured  cheap  at  the  ironmongers.  These  old 
rusty  rods,  painted  green,  or  lead  color,  are  excel 
lent  stakes  for  supporting  flowers,  and  do  not  wear 
out.  The  slighter  rods  are  very  firm,  upright  sup 
porters  for  Carnations,  Pinks,  &c.,  while  the  taller 
and  larger  rods  are  the  firmest  and  best  poles  for 
hollyhocks,  sunflowers,  and  the  larger  class  of 
plants.  Fix  the  flower  stem  to  its  stake  with  string, 
or  the  tape  of  the  bass  matting,  soaked  in  water  to 
prevent  its  cracking,  and  tie  it  sufficiently  tight  to 
prevent  the  wind  tearing  it  from  its  position.  Tie 
the  large  stems  in  three  places  for  security. 

The  term  Deciduous,  applied  to  shrubs,  signifies 
that  they  shed  their  leaves  every  winter. 

Herbaceous  plants,  signify  those  plants  whose 
roots  are  not  woody,  such  as  stocks,  wallflowers, 
&c.  &c. 

Fibrous-rooled  plants,  are  those  whose  roots 
shoot  out  small  fibres,  such  as  Polyanthuses,  vio 
lets,  &c. 

Tuberous-Tooted  plants,  signify  those  roots  which 
form  and  grow  into  little  tubes,  such  as  Anemones, 
Ranunculuses,  &c. 


30 


PERENNIALS. 


Perennials  are  flowers  of  many  years'  duration  ; 
and  they  multiply  themselves  most  abundantly  bv 
suckers,  offsets,  parting  the  roots,  &c.  They  re 
quire  little  trouble  beyond  taking  care  to  renew  th-j 
soil  every  year  or  two  by  a  somewhat  plentiful  sup 
ply  from  the  compost  heap  ;  and  by  seperating  thi3 
offsets,  and  parting  the  roots  in  autumn,  to  strength 
en  the  mother  plant.  When  the  flowers  are  pa^t 
and  the  stems  have  decayed,  then  the  operation  mair 
take  place.  Choose  a  showery  day  for  transplant 
ing  the  roots,  or  give  them  a  moderate  watering  to 
fix  them  in  their  fresh  places.  When  you  trans 
plant  a  flower  root,  dig  a  hole  with  your  trowel  suf 
ficiently  large  to  give  the  fibres  room  to  lay  freeh 
and  evenly  in  the  ground, 

I  have,  throughout  my  little  work,  laid  great, 
stress  upon  posessing  a  heap  of  compost,  ready  to 
apply  to  roots  and  shrubs  every  spring  and  autumn. 
Wherever  the  soil  is  good,  the  flowers  will  bloom 
handsomely  ;  and  no  lady  will  be  disappointed  of 
that  pleasure,  if  a  compost  heap  forms  one  essen 
tial,  in  a  hidden  corner  of  the  flower  garden.  If 
you  raise  your  perennials  from  seed,  sow  it  in  the 
last  week  in  March,  in  a  bed  of  light  earth,  in  the 
open  ground.  Let  the  bed  be  in  a  genial,  warm  sit 
uation,  and  divide  it  into  small  compartments  ;  a 
compartment  for  each  sort  of  seed. 

Sow  the  seed  thin, — and  rake  or  break  the  earth 
over  them  finely.  Let  the  larger  seed  be  sown 
half  an  inch  deep,  and  the  smaller  seed  a  quarter  of 
an  inch.  Water  the  beds  in  dry  weather  often  with 
a  watering  pot,  not  a  jug.  The  rose  of  the  water- 


CARNATIONS    AND    PINKb.  31 

ing  pot  distributes  the  water  equally  among  the 
seedlings  ;  whereas,  water  dashed  upon  them  from 
a  jug  falls  in  masses,  and  forms  holes  in  the  light 
earthj  besides  prostrating  the  delicate  seedling. 

About  the  end  of  May,  the  seedlings  will  be  fit 
to  remove  into  another  nursery  bed,  to  gain  strength 
till  October ;  or  be  planted  at  once  where  they  are 
to  remain.  Put  the  plants  six  inches  apart,  and 
water  them  moderately,  to  settle  the  earth  about 
their  roots. 

But  it  is  rarely  required  to  sow  seed  for  perennial 
plants, — they  multiply  so  vigorously  and  quickly  of 
themselves,  by  offsets  ;  and  cuttings  may  be  made 
of  the  flower  stalks  in  May  and  June  in  profusion. 

The  double  Scarlet  lychnis,  and  those  plants 
which  rise  with  firm  flower  stems,  make  excellent 
cuttings,  and  grow  freely  when  planted  in  moist 
weather.  Double  Rockets,  Lychnidea,  and  many 
others  succeed  well. 

Carnation  and  pink  seedlings  must  be  taken  great 
care  of.  They  will  be  ready  to  plant  out  about 
the  middle  of  June,  and  a3  innumerable  varieties 
spring  from  sowing  seed,  they  should  be  planted 
carefully  in  a  bed  by  themselves  six  inches  asun 
der,  and  they  will  flower  the  following  year,  when 
you  can  choose  the  colors  you  most  approve.  Car 
nations  properly  rank  under  the  head  of  biennials  ; 
but  pinks  are  strictly  perennial  plants,  and  much 
has  been  written  upon  this  hardy  and  beautiful 
flower.  It  comes  originally  from  a  temperate  cli 
mate,  therefore  the  pink  loves  shade  ;  the  fervid 
sunbeams  cause  its  flowers  to  languish  and  droop. 
You  may  give  them  an  eastern  aspect. 

Be  careful  to  watch  pinks  when  they  are  bud 
ding,  and  do  not  allow  two  buds  to  grow  side  by 


32  QUALITIES    OF    PINKS. 

side.  Pinch  off  the  smaller  bud,  which  \voull 
only  weaken  its  companion.  Keep  the  plants  fre  3 
from  decayed  leaves,  and  gently  stir  the  earth  round 
them  occasionally  with  your  small  trowel.  This 
operation  refreshes  them.  Stake  them  neatly,  that 
they  may  not  fall  prostrate  after  rain. 

If  you  wish  to  preserve  any  particular  pink,  let 
it  grow  in  a  pot,  or  upon  a  raised  platform,  that  it 
may  be  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  hares,  rabbits, 
or  poultry,  and  be  more  easily  sheltered  from  lon;>- 
and  severe  frost  or  rains  in  winter,  and  from  tho 
dry  heats  ;n  summer,  either  of  which  destroys  tho 
beauty  of  the  flower.  The  pots  can  be  sunk  in  tho 
ground  in  fine  weather.  Do  not  hide  your  pinks 
among  larger  flowers  ;  let  them  be  distinctly  seen. 
If  you  water  pinks  too  much,  their  roots  become  rot 
ten  ;  and  if  you  suffer  them  to  be  to  dry,  they  be 
come  diseased.  Beware  of  extremes.  The  bes: 
rule  is  to  keep  them  just  moist.  A  fine  pink  should 
not  have  sharp-pointed  flower  leaves  ;  they  shouk 
be  round  and  even  at  their  edges,  and  the  colors 
should  be  well  defined,  not  running  one  into  the 
other.  The  flower  should  be  large  ;  it  should  pos 
sess  a  great  many  leaves,  and  form  a  sort  of  dome. 
Piping  and  slipping  is  the  most  expiditious  mode 
of  propagating  plants  from  any  selected  pink. 

Pa?isics,  violets,  &c.  are  very  easily  propagated 
by  parting  the  roots  when  the  flowers  are  past. 
Pansies  are  very  beautiful  flowers;  and  cuttings  of 
their  young  shoots  will  grow  very  freely  if  kept 
moist  and  shaded  for  some  little  time.  By  refresh 
ing  the  soil  every  year,  you  insure  large  flowers. 
Pansies  and  violets  bloom  early  in  the  spring. 

Hepalicas  must  be  parted  like  violets.  They  ap 
pear  so  very  early  in  the  year,  that  no  garden  should 


SPRING    FLOWERS.  33 

exist  without  these  gay  and  modest  flowers.  The 
leaves  appear  after  the  flower  has  past  away. 

The  Polyanthus  blooms  among  the  early  tribe. 
In  planting  this  flower,  be  careful  to  insert  the  roots 
deep  in  the  soil,  so  that  the  leaves  may  rest  upon 
it,  for  the  roots  are  produced  high  upon  the  stem, 
and  those  roots  must  be  enabled  to  shoot  into  the 
soil.  The  polyanthus,  like  almost  every  other 
flower,  loves  a  good  soil,  with  a  mixture  of  sand. 

In  dividing  these  fibrous-rooted  perennial  plants, 
take  only  the  strong  offsets,  with  plenty  of  fibres 
attached  to  them. 

Polyanthuses,  auriculas,  double  daisies,  double 
camomile,  London  pride,' violets,  hepaticas,  thrift, 
primroses,  gentianella,  &c.,  succeed  well,  taken  up 
and  divided  in  September,,  for  they  will  all  have 
done  flowering  by  that  time.  Indeed  all  perennial 
fibrous-rooted  plants  may  be  taken  up  in  October, 
to  have  their  roots  parted,  and  the  soil  refreshed 
round  them. 

Peonies,  and  all  knob-rooted  plants,  should  be 
taken  up  in  October,  to  part  their  roots  and  trans 
plant  them  to  their  intended  positions. 

The  saxifrage  has  very  small  roots,  which  are 
apt  to  be  lost  in  borders,  if  not  very  carefully  look 
ed  after.  Like  the  anemone,  &c.,  sift  the  earth 
well  for  them. 

Dahlias  require  a  word  or  two  upon  their  cul 
ture.  They  love  sand,  therefore  allow  them  plenty 
of  it,  but  do  not  put  manure  to  their  roots,  which 
throws  them  into  luxuriant  leaf  and  stem,  to  the 
deterioration  of  the  flower.  Peat  mould  is  good  if 
you  can  obtain  it,  to  mix  with  the  sand,  as  it  assists 
the  flower  in  developing  stripes  and  spots.  Train 
each  plant  upright,  upon  one  stem  only,  and  give 
4 


34  SPRING    FLOWERS. 

it  a  strong  stake  to  support  its  weight,  which  soo  i 
succumbs  under  gusts  of  wind.  Plant  them  ii 
open  and  airy  places.  When  the  sterns  become 
black,  take  them  up, — seperate  the  roots,  anl 
plunge  them  into  a  box  of  ashes,  barley  chaff,  cr 
sand,  to  protect  them  through  the  winter.  Plai  t 
them  out  in  May. 

Dahlias  grow  from  cuttings,  which  require  care 
and  a  hot-bed  to  do  well,  but  they  multiply  them 
selves  very  sufficiently  without  that  trouble. 

It  is  a  great  perfection  to  see  every  tall  plant  in  a 
flower-garden  well  staked,  and  trimmed  from  dead, 
straggling  shoots.  Let  no  branches  trail  upon  the 
border,  but,  as  in  the  case  of  Chrysanthemums,  cut 
away  the  lowest  branches  or  shoots,  that  each  plant 
may  stand  erect  and  neat  in  its  order,  without  ii  - 
termeddling  in  its  neighbor's  concerns.  There  will 
be  plenty  of  employment  all  through  the  summer  in 
watching  the  growth  of  your  plants,  in  cutting  away 
decayed  stems,  and  trimming  off  dead  leaves.  Let 
nothing  remain  in  the  flower's  way  after  the  brigh  - 
ness  of  its  bloom  has  past  by;  cut  off  the  drooping 
flower  before  it  runs  to  seed,  which  only  tends  to 
weaken  the  other  flowers,  and  leave  only  the  finest 
flower  to  produce  seed  on  each  plant. 

Perennials  grow  remarkably  fine  always  in  new 
ly  turned-up  ground,  but  they  gradually  degenerate, 
if  they  are  allowed  to  remain  above  two  years  with 
out  replacing  the  substance  they  have  exhausted  in- 
the  soil.  Add  every  year  to  that  substance,  by  lib 
eral  supplies  from  the  compost  heap. 

Be  careful  to  multiply  your  supply  of  jasmines, 
honeysuckles,  &c.,  by  cuttings  in  their  due  season. 

I  subjoin  a  list  of  the  hardier  sorts  of  iibrous- 
rooted  Perennials,  eligible  to  adorn  a  garden,  from 


HARDY    PEREXXIALS. 


35 


which  my  readers  may  stock  their  borders.  At  the 
end  of  my  work,  however,  I  shall  add  a  long  list  of 
plants  alphabetically  arranged. 


LIST  OF  HARDV  PERENNIALS. 


Aster,  or  Starwort 

Large  blue  Alpine 

Common  Starwort,  or  Mi 
chaelmas  Daisy 

Early  Pyrenean 

Blue  Italian  Starwort 

Catesby's  Starwort 

Dwarf  narrow-leaved  Star- 
wort 

Midsummer  Starwort 

Autumnal  White  Starwort, 

with  broad  leaves 
Tripolian  Starwort 

Divaricated-branched 

Virginian    Starwort,    with 
spiked  blue  flowers 

Early  blue  Starwort 

Rose  Starwort 

Latest  Starwort,  large  blue 
flowers 

New  England  Starwort 

Red  flowering 
Apocynum,  Dogsbane 

Red-flowering 

Orange-coloied 

Syrian 
Arum,    Italian    large-veined 

leaf 
Asclepias,  Swallow-wort 

VVhite 

Yellow 

Astragalus,  Milk-vetch 
Alysson,  VVhite 

Yellow 

Violet 

Borage,  the  Eastern 
Bachelor's  Button 

Double  Red 


Double  white 
Double  ragged  Robin 
Campanula,  or  Bell-flower 

Double  blue 

Double  white 

Double    blue,    and   white 

nettled-leaved 
Caltha,  Double-flowered 

Marigold 

Cassia  of  Maryland 
Pinks,  double  pheasant's  eye 

Dobson 

Deptford 

Cob  white 

Red  cob 

White  stock 

Damask 

Mountain 

Matted 

Old  man's  head 

Painted  lady 

Clove  pink,  and  many  other 

varieties 

Slock  July-floicer,  the  Eronip- 
ton 

Double  Scarlet  Brompton 

Single  scarlet 

Purple 

VVhite  Brompton 

Queen  stock 

Purple  double 

Striped  double 

Single  of  each  sort 

Twickenham  stock 
Lichnidea,  early  blue 

Spotted-stalked,  with  pur 
ple  spikes  of  flowers 

Virginia,  with  large  umbels 


36 


HARDY    PERENNIALS. 


Low  trailing  purple 

Carolina,  with  stiff  shining 
leaves,    and  deeper  pur 
ple  flowers 
Cyanus,  broad-leaved 

Narrow-leaved 
Lychnis,  or  Campion 

Single  scarlet  lychnis 

Double  scarlet  lychnis 

Catchfly,  double  flowers 
Hcpaticas,  single  white 

Single  blue 

Single  red 

Double  red 

Double  blue 
Lincria,  toad  flax 

Purple 

Yellow 
Bee  Larkspur 
Fraxinellti,  white 

Red 

Ge.ntiania,  great  yellow 
Gcntianella,  blue 
Gtobularia,  blue  daisy 
Fox-glove,  red 

White 

Iron  colored 
Perennial  Sunflower 

Double  yellow  and  several 

other  species 
Cyclamen,  red 

White 
Goldy  Locks 
Chelone,  white 

Red 
Lib/  of  the  Valley,  common 

Double-flowering 
Solomon's  Seal,  single 

Double 

Filapendula,  or  Dropwort 
Columbines,  common  blue 

Double  red 

Double  white 

Double  striped 


j  Starry,  double  and  single 

I  Early-flowering  Canada 

j  Tkulictrum,  feathered  colum  • 

bines 

!  Pulsatilla,  blue  Pasqueflowe  • 
|  Orobus,  bitter  vetch 
Saxifrage,  double  white 
Thick  leaved 
Purple 

Veronica,  upright  blue 
Dwarf  blue 
Hungarian 
Blush 

Golden  Rod,  many  species 
Valerian,  red  garden  Valerian 

White  garden 

Rudbekia,      American      sun 
flower 
Dwarf  Virginia,  with  large 

yellow  flowers 
Dwarf  Carolina,  with  nar 
row  red  reflexed  petals 
and  purple  florets 
Virginia,   with  yellow  rays 

and  red  florets 
Tall   yellow,    with    purple 
stalks,  and  heart-shaped 
leaves 

Taller,  with  yellow  flowers 
and  large  five-lobed 
leaves,  and  those  on  the 
stalks  single 

Tallest    yellow,  with   nar 
rower  leaves,  which  are 
all  of  five  lobes 
Pulmonaria,  Lungwort 
Common 
American 
Monarda,  purple 

Scarlet 
i  Ephemeron,  Spider-wort,    or 

flowers  of  a  day 
White 
Blue 


HARDY    PERENNIALS. 


37 


Jacea,  American  knapweed 
Primrose,  double  yellow 

Double  scarlet 

White 

Polyanthus,  many  varieties 
Auriculas,  many  varieties 
Violets,  double  blue 

Double  white 

Double  red 

Russian 

Banksia 
Violet  the  major 
London-pride,    or    None-so- 
pretty 
Day-lily,  red 

Yellow 
Fumitory,  the  yellow 

White 

Bulbous-rooted 

American  forked 
Aconite,      Monk's-hood,      or 
Wolf's-bane 

Blue  monk's-hood 

Yellow 

White 

Wholesome  wolf's-bane 
Winter  Aconite 
Hellebore,  or  Bear's  foot 

Common  black  hellebore 

Green-flowered 
White  Hellebore 
Christmas  Rose 
Geranium,  Crane's-bill 

Bloody  crane's-bill 

Blue 

Roman 

Bladder-cupped 
Daisies,  common  double  red 
garden  daisy 

White 

Double  variegated 

Cock's-comb  daisies,  white 
and  red 


Hen   and    chicken,    white 

and  red 

Dahlias,  many  varieties 
Peony,  double  red 
Double  white 
Double  purple 
Male,    with    large    single 

flowers 

Sweet  smelling  Portugal 
Double  rose-colored 
Silphium,    bastard    Chrysan 
themum 

Jris,Fleur-de-lis  or  flags 
The  German  violet  colored 
Variegated,  or  Hungarian, 

purple  and  yellow 
Chalcedonian  iris 
Greater  Dalmatian  iris- 
There    are    several   other 
varieties    of    Irises,     all 
very     hardy    and    very 
beautiful  plants 
Cardinal  Floicers,  scarlet 

Blue 

Rocket,  double  white 
Balm  of  Gilead,  sweet-scent 
ed  ;   must  be  sheltered  in 
winter. 

Everlasting  Pea 
Eupatorium,  several  varieties 
Eryvgo,  blue 
White 

Mountain,  purple  and  vio 
let 

There  are  some  other  va 
rieties. 

Snap  Dragon,  or  Calf  s  snout 
Red 
White 
Variegated 
Moth  Mullein 
Angelica 
Asphodellus,  King's  spear 


38  HARDY    PERENNIALS. 

Lupins,  perennial,  blue-flow-        Large  yellow-flowered 

ered  Trarlescantia,  or  Virginia  spi- 

Ononis,  Rest-har  derwort 

The  Saxifrage  is  propagated  by  cuttings  and  off- 
sets,  which  the  roots  produce  abundantly.  Tako 
the  offsets  and  plant  them  out  in  August.  Th<! 
double  white  saxifrage  is  a  beautiful  flower,  and 
blooms  early  in  the  spring.  The  pyramidal  saxi 
frage  is  a  very  handsome  decorative  flower,  but  it 
must  be  planted  in  little  clumps  to  make  a  showy 
appearance. 

October  is  the  busy  month  for  transplanting  and 
removing  the  offsets  of  all  perennial  arid  biennial 
plants.  In  this  month  every  flower  of  summer  ha* 
passed  away,  and  the  garden  is  free  to  receive  all 
new  arrangements  in  its  future  dispositions.  Gold 
en  rod,  Michaelmas  daisies,  everlasting  sun-flower, 
and  other  branching  plants,  will  require  taking  up 
every  four  years,  to  part  the  main  root  into  separate 
plants,  and  replace  them  in  the  ground  again. 
Peonies,  lilies  of  the  valley,  fraxinellas,  monk's  - 
hood,  flag-leaved  irises,  &c.,  must  be  increased  or 
removed  when  required.  All  this  is  most  effectu 
ally  done  in  October. 

In  the  same  month,  finish  all  that  is  to  be  effect 
ed  among  the  perennial  tribe.  Campanulas,  lych 
nises,  polyanthuses,  violets,  aconites,  cyclamens, 
gentianella,  yellow  gentian,  double  daisies,  hepati- 
cas,  saxifrage,  &c.,  must  be  attended  to,  and  prop 
agated,  by  dividng  the  roots,  before  October  closes. 
November  is  the  season  of  fogs,  and  severe  frosts  : 
if  a  lady  is  prudent,  she  will  perform  all  these  need 
ful  operations  in  October,  and  November  will  have 
no  alarms  for  her. 

All  the  double-flowering  plants,  such  as   double 


HARDY    PERENNIALS.  39 

sweet-williams,  double  rockets,  double  scarlet  lych 
nis,  &c.,  should  be  placed  in  sheltered  situations  in 
October,  to  weather  out  .the  storms  of  winter. 
Double  flowers  are  very  handsome,  and  deserve  a 
little  care. 

The  most  charming  little  perennial  flower  which 
can  adorn  a  lady's  garden,  is  the  scarlet  verbena, 
but  it  is  very  difficult  to  preserve  through  the  winter. 
Its  beauty,  however,  repays  the  care  which  may  be 
bestowed  upon  it.  This  tender  plant — the  only 
really  tender  root  which  I  admit  into  my  work — is 
not  only  desirable  from  its  fine,  full  scarlet  blos 
soms,  but  it  blooms  from  April  to  November.  The 
scarlet  verbena  loves  a  rich,  light,  dry  border  or 
bed,  in  a  sunny  situation;  they  delight  also  in  rock- 
work,  where  they  have  been  known  to  exist  through 
the  winter.  Plant  the  roots  about  six  inches  apart 
in  the  middle  of  April,  and  keep  pegging  down  the 
shoots  as  they  throw  themselves  along  the  bed.  A 
profusion  of  flowers  and  plants  are  produced  by  this 
means.  A  bed  or  border  sloping  to  the  south  is 
the  best  situation  for  the  scarlet  verbena. 


40 


CHAPTER  III. 

BULBS  AND  TUBEROUS-ROOTED  FLOWERS — 
PERENNIALS. 

I  SHALL  give  the  bulbous  and  tuberous-rooted  flov- 
ers  a  chapter  to  themselves.  They  are  the  earliest 
treasures  of  the  flower-garden,  and  deserve  especi  il 
notice.  There  was  a  period  when  two  hundred 
pounds  was  offered  for  a  hyacinth  root,  and  even 
the  enormous  sum  of  six  hundred  pounds  was  given 
for  a  Semper  Augustus  tulip,  by  the  Dutch  tulip 
fanciers.  But  though  a  few  florists  are  still  par 
ticularly  nice  with  respect  to  their  bulbs,  the  time 
is  past  for  paying  such  splendid  prices  ;  and  such 
an  inexhaustible  variety  offer  themselves  to  our  no 
tice  now,  that  we  are  somewhat  puzzled  in  making 
a  choice  collection.  Seed  produces  immense  num 
bers  yearly,  and  an  infinite  variety  of  new  colors 
in  each  species.  The  florist  is  lost  in  admiration 
of  the  magnificent  blooms  which  meet  the  eye  in 
every  flower-garden  which  is  carefully  attended  to. 
Bulbs  love  a  mixture  of  garden  soil  and  sand, 
well  mixed,  and  dug  about  two  spades  deep  to 
lighten  it.  Break  the  mould  fine,  and  rake  the  sur 
face  even.  Plant  the  bulbs  four  inches  deep,  and 
let  them  be  six  inches  apart,  placing  the  bulb  with 
care  into  the  dibbled  hole,  and  pressing  the  eartli 
gently  round  each.  All  bulbs  should  be  replanted 
in  September,  and  taken  out  of  the  ground  when 


TRANSPLANTING    BULBS.  41 

they  have  done  flowering.  When  the  leaves  and 
stems  decay,  dig  them  neatly  up,  in  dry  weather, 
with  your  garden  fork;  take  the  offsets  carefully 
from  the  main  root ;  spread  them  out  to  dry  on  a 
mat,  and  put  them  in  a  cool,  dry  place,  to  plant 
again  in  September. 

The  common  bulbs,  such  as  Snowdrops,  Crocuses, 
&c.,  may  be  left  two  or  three  years  untouched ; 
but  at  the  end  of  that  period  take  up,  to  sepa 
rate  the  offsets  and  small  roots  from  the  mother 
plants.  You  can  replant  them  immediately,  taking 
care  to  thin  the  clumps,  and  seperate  each  root  six 
inches  from  its  neighbor,  that  they  may  rise  healthy, 
and  throw  out  fine  blooms. 

Narcissuses,  Jonquils,  and  Irises,  may  also  re 
main  two  years  untouched ;  but  if  annually  taken 
up,  they  will  flower  finer,  and  for  these  reasons  : 

By  taking  up  your  bulbs  as  soon  as  their  leaves 
and  stems  decay,  it  not  only  allows  you  to  seperate 
the  offsets,  which  weaken  the  parent  bulb,  but  it 
prevents  their  receiving  any  damage  from  long 
drought,  or  the  equally  destructive  moisture  of 
heavy  rains,  which  would  set  them  growing  again 
before  their  time,  and  exhaust  them.  The  two  or 
three  months  in  which  they  are  laid  by  contributes 
to  their  strength,  by  allowing  them  that  period  of 
complete  rest. 

The  autumn-flowering  bulbs,  such  as  the  Colchi- 
cums,  the  Autumnal  Crocus,  the  yellow  Autumnal 
Narcissus,  &c.,  should  be  taken  up  in  May  or  early 
in  June,  when  they  are  at  rest.  Transplant  them 
now  if  you  wish  to  remove  them;  part  the  offsets, 
and  plant  them  six  inches  apart.  If  you  keep  them 
out  of  the  ground,  put  them  in  a  dry,  shady  place 
till  the  middle  of  July  or  August,  when  you  must 
plant  them  again,  to  blow  in  the  autumn. 


42  PROPAGATION    OF 

Be  careful  to  take  up  bulbs  as  soon  as  the  leaves 
decay.  If  they  are  incautiously  left  in  the  ground 
beyond  that  period,  they  begin  to  form  the  bud  for 
the  next  year's  flowers;  and  the  check  of  a  re 
moval  would  injure  them.  They  might  produce 
flowers  in  due  time,  but  they  would  be  weakly. 

The  little  offsets  wrll  not  flower  for  a  year  c  r 
two.  They  may  be  consigned  to  a  nursery-bed  to 
remain  for  that  time,  in  order  to  swell  and  strengtl  - 
en  by  themselves. 

If  you  wish  to  procure  new  varieties  from  seed, 
it  must  be  .sown  in  August.  The  healthiest  flovvei  - 
stalks  should  be  chosen,  and  deposited  in  pots  cr 
boxes  of  fine  light  earth,  for  the  convenience  of  ri  - 
moving  under  shelter  in  wet  or  frost.  Keep  the 
pots  or  boxes  in  the  shade  during  the  heats,  but  as 
the  cold  weather  advances,  remove  them  to  a  wann 
sheltered  spot.  Litter  will  shelter  them  from  tlu 
frost,  if  you  cannot  command  any  other  covering. 
The  plants  will  appear  early  the  following  May  : 
they  must  be  kept  very  clear  from  weeds,  and  bo 
moderately  watered  in  dry  weather.  These  seed 
lings  must  be  transplanted  every  summer  to  be 
thinned,  and  placed  farther  apart  from  each  other, 
till  they  blow,  when  they  may  be  removed  into  the 
flower-beds. 

This  method  is  troublesome,  and  requires  pa 
tience.  Tulip  seedlings  are  seven  years  beforo 
they  flower,  and  a  lady  may  find  her  patience  se 
verely  tried  in  waiting  for  their  blooms.  Seven 
years  is  a  large  portion  of  human  life.  If  you  can 
persevere,  however,  you  will  be  rewarded  by  beau 
tiful  varieties  of  new  colors  and  stripes. 

Fine  tulips  should  have  six  leaves,  three  on  the 
outside  and  three  on  the  inside,  and  the  former 


BULBOUS    PLANTS.  43 

should  be  broader  than  the  latter.  The  stripes 
upon  the  tulip  should  also  be  defined  and  distinct, 
not  mixing  with  the  ground  tints. 

Hyacinth  seedlings  are  four  years  before  they 
flower :  this  is  not  so  harassing  a  period  as  the 
tulip  requires  ;  but  every  pleasure  has  its  counter 
balance.  If  you  will  have  fine  flowers,  you  must 
wait  for  them.  These  bulbs  love  a  sunny  situation. 
The  Orchis  tribe  prefer  a  moist  ground  and  a 
northen  aspect.  Columella  says,  that  when  orchis 
bulbs  are  sown  in  autumn,  they  germinate  and  bear 
flowers  in  April. 

The  Colchicums  or  narcissus  are  hardy  bulbs, 
and  will  grow  in  any  sort  of  ground ;  only  the  bet 
ter  the  soil  is,  the  finer  they  will  flower. 

The  Guernsey  Lily  and  Belladonna  will  not 
thrive  in  the  open  ground,  therefore  it  is  needless 
to  speak  of  those  very  splendid  flowers. 

The  Lily  of  the  valley,  though  scarcely  to  be 
classed  among  the  lily  tribe,  is  a  beautiful  flower, 
and  as  fragrant  as  it  is  lovely.  They  must  be  mul 
tiplied  by  dividing  the  roots,  which  should  be  part 
ed  with  a  knife,  as  they  are  very  intricate  :  do  this 
in  December.  Plant  them  three  inches  deep  in 
the  ground  and  desturb  them  as  little  as  you  can 
help,  as  they  do  not  like  to  be  often  moved.  They 
are  larger  in  their  flowers  when  grown  in  the 
shade,  but  they  are  sweeter  in  perfume  in  the  sun's 
full  rays.  Thin,  broad  leaves  are  sufficient  shelter 
to  the  flowers. 

All  bulbs  love  salt :  be  careful,  therefore,  to  throw 
a  portion  of  commen  salt  or  brine  upon  your  com 
post  heap.  My  cousin,  Cuthbert  W.  Johnson, 
Esq.,  in  his  "  Observations  on  the  Employment  of 
Salt,"  quotes  a  passage  in  a  letter  addressed  to  him 


44 


SALT  MANURE. 


by  Mr.  Thomas  Hogg,  the  cniment  florist,  upon  the 
advantages  of  salt  in  the  cultivation  of  flowers.  I 
transcribe  it  here  :  — 


"  From  the  few  experiments  that  I  have  tried  with  salt  as  a 
garden  manure,  T  am  fully  prepared  to  bear  testimony  to  ts 
usefulness.  In  a  treatise  upon  flowers,  published  about  HX 
years  since,  I  remarked,  that  the  application  of  salt,  and  ts 
utility  as  a  manure,  was  yet  imperfectly  understood.  Ir  is  a 
matter  of  uncertainty,  whether  it  acts  directly  as  a  manure, 
or  only  as  a  kind  of  spice  or  seasoning,  thereby  rendering 
the  soil  a  more  palatable  food  for  plants. 

"  The  idea  that  first  suggested  itself  to  rny  mind,  arose 
from  contemplating  the  successful  culture  of  hyacinths  n 
Holland.  This  root,  though  not  indigenous  to  the  country, 
may  be  said  to  be  completely  naturalized  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Haerlem,  where  it  grows  luxuriantly  in  a  deep,  sand/, 
alluvial  soil:  yet  one  great  cause  of  its  free  growth,  I  con 
sidered,  was  owing  to  the  saline  atmosphere  :  this  induct  d 
me  to  mix  salt  in  the  compost;  and  I  am  satisfied  that  r-o 
hyacinths  will  grow  well  at  a  distance  from  the  sea  without 
it.  I  am  also  of  opinion,  that  the  numerous  bulbous  tribe  of 
Amaryllisses,  especially  those  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hop<;, 
Ixias,  Aliums,  which  include  Onions,  Garlic,  Shalots,  &c., 
Anemonies,  various  species  of  the  Lily,  Antholyza,  Colchi- 
curn,  Crinum,  Cyclamens,  Narcissus,  Iris,  Gladiolus,  Ranun 
culus,  Scilla,  and  many  others,  should  either  have  salt  or  sea 
sand  in  the  mould  used  for  them. 

"I  invariably  use  salt  as  an  ingredient  in  my  compost  for 
carnations;  a  plant  which,  like  wheat,  requires  substantial 
soil,  and  all  the  strength  and  heat  of  the  summer,  to  bring  it. 
to  perfection  ;  and  I  believe  I  might  say,  without  boasting, 
that  few  excel  me  in  blooming  that  flower." 

Colchicums,  the  Autumnal  Narcissus,  Amaryllis, 
and  the  Autumn  Crocus,  should  be  planted  in  Au 
gust,  to  blow  in  September  and  October. 

Replant  all  the  bulbous  tribe  by  the  end  of  Octo 
ber,  at  the  latest.  Choose  a  mild,  dry  day  to  put, 
them  in  the  ground,  and  let  each  bulb  be  six  or  nine 
inches  distance  from  its  companion.  All  bulbs  be 
come  weak  by  being  placed  too  closely  together, 
the  soil  becoming  soon  exhausted. 


NECESSARY    FOR    BULBS. 


45 


Bulbs  of  the  more  choice  varieties  are  better  at 
tended  to  if  they  can  be  placed  in  beds  or  compart 
ments  by  themselves;  for  they  are  more  easily 
sheltered  from  frost  and  rain  when  in  a  body. 
The  eye,  also,  is  more  delighted  by  the  beautiful 
variety  en  masse.  Their  favorite  soil,  too,  can  be 
composed  and  preserved  for  them  more  exclusively, 
unexhausted  by  the  roots  of  larger  plants  around 
them.  Some  of  the  commoner  sorts  can  be  plant 
ed  out  in  patches,  to  add  to  the  gay  appearance  of 
the  borders,  among  the  spring  flowers. 

Martagons,  orange  lilies,  and  bulbs  of  tall  growth, 
should  never  be  planted  among  the  smaller  tribe  ; 
their  large  bulbs  would  exhaust,  the  soil,  and  weak 
en  the  smaller  flowers.  They  look  very  handsome 
in  borders  and  plots,  placed  near  or  in  their  centre. 


LIST    OF    BULBOUS    ASD    TUBEROUS-ROOTED    FLOWERS. 


Amaryllis,  comprising  the  an-  \ 
tumnal  yellow  Karcissus  i 

Spring  ditto 

Crocus  vernus,  or  spring-flow-  | 
ering  crocus 

Common  yellow 

Large  yellow 

Yellow,  with  black  stripes 

White 

White,  with  blue  ^tripes 

Bhre  with  white  stripes 

Deep  blue 

Light  blue 

White,  with  purple  bottom 

Scotch,  or  black  and  white 
striped 

Cream-colored 
Autumnal  flowering    Crocus, 
of   the   following  varie 
ties:— 

True  saffron  crocus,  with  ' 
5 


bluish  flower  and  golden 
stigma,  which  is  the  saf 
fron 

Common  autumnal  crocus, 
with  deep  blue  flowers 

With  light  blue  flowers 

Many  flowered 
Snowdrop,  the    small    spring 
flowering 

Common  single 

Doulile 

Leucojum,   or  great  smirmer 
snowdrop 

Great  summer  snowdrop, 
with  angular  stalks;  a 
foot  high,  and  two  or 
three  flowers  in  each 
sheath 

Taller  great  snowdrop, 
with  many  flowers 


46 


BULBOUS    AND 


Ornithogalum,     or    Star    of 
Bethlehem 

Great  white  pyramidal, 
with  narrow  leaves 

White,  with  broadsword- 
shaped  leaves  spreading 
on  the  ground 

Yellow 

Pyrenean,  with  whitish  - 
green  flowers 

Star  of  Naples,  with  hang-j 
ing  flowers 

Umbellated.  producing  its 
flowers  in  umbels,  or 
spreading  bunches,  at 
the  top  of  the  stalk 

Low  yellow  umbellated 
Eryfhronium,  dens  canis,    orj 
dog's  tooth 

RoiHid-leavcd,  with  red 
flowers 

Same,  with  white  flowers  j 

The  same,  yellow 

Long  narrow-leaved,  with 
purple  and  with  white 
flowers 

Grape  Hyacinth 

Purple 

Blue 

White 

Musk  hyacinth 

White 

Ash-colored 

Blue  feathered  hyacinth 

Purple 

Musky,  or  sweet-scented, 
with  full  purple  flowers 

The  same,   with  large  pur 
ple  and  yellow  flowers 
Great     African     Muscaria. 
with          sulphur-colored 
flower 
Fntillaria,  chequered  tulip 

Early  purple,  variegated,  j 
or  chequered  with  white  | 


Black,  chequered  with  y  >1- 
low  spots 

Yellow,  chequered  with 
purple 

Dark  purple,  with  yellow 
spots,  and  flowers  grow 
ing  in  an  umbel 

Persian  lily,  with  tall  stall- s, 
and  dark  purple  flowers 
growing  in  a  pyramid 

Blanching  Persian  lily 
Corona  Jrnpcrialis,  crown   im 
perial,   a  species  of  F  -i- 
tillaria 

Common  red 

Common  yellow 

Yellow-striped 

Sulphur-colored 

Large-flowering 

Double  of  each  variety 

Crown  upon  crown,  or 
with  two  whorls  of 
flowers 

Triple  crown  upon  crow  i, 
or  with  three  tiers  of 
flowers,  one  above  an 
other 

Gold-striped  leaved 

Silver-striped  leaved 
Tulip,  early  dwarf  tulip 

Tall  or  most  common  tulip 

Earlv,  vellow  and  red 
striped 

White  and  red  striped 

White  and  purple  striped 

White  and  rose  striped 

Tall,  or  late  flowering,  with 
white  bottoms,  striped 
white  brown 

White  bottom,  striped  with 
violet  or  black  brown 

White  bottoms,  striped  with 
red  or  vermilion  • 

Yellow     bottoms,     striped 


TUBEROUS-ROOTED    FLOWERS. 


47 


with      different      colors, 
called  Bizarres 
Double  Tulip,  yellow  and  red 

White  and  red 

Gladiolus,  corn  flag,  or  sword 
lily,  common,  with  sword 
shaped  leaves,  and  a  red 
dish  purple  flower  rang 
ed  011  one  side  of  the 
stalk 

The  same,  with  white 
flowers 

Italian,  with  reddish  flow 
ers  ranged  on  both  sides 
of  the  stalk 

The  same,  with  white  flow 
ers 

Great  red  of  Byzantium 

Narrow  grassy-leaved,  and 
a  flesk-colored  flower, 
with  channelled,  long, 
narrow,  four-angled 

leaves,  and  two  bell- 
shaped  flowers  on  the 
stalk 

Great  Indian 

Anemone,  wood  anemone, 
with  blue  flowers 

White  flowers 

Red  flowers 

Double  white 

Garden  Double  Anemone,  with 
crimson  flowers 

Purple 

Red 

Blue 

White 

Red  and  white  striped 

Red,  white,  and  purple 

Rose  and  white 

Blue,  striped  and  white, 
Ranunculus,   Turkey,    with  a 
single     stalk,    and    large 
double   blood-red  flower 

Yellow-flowered 


Persian,  with  branching 
stalks,  and  large  double 
flowers  of  innumerable 
varieties,  of  which  there 
are, — 

Very  double  flowers 
femi.  or  half  double 
(T.-ie  double  are  most  beau 
tiful,  propagated  by  off 
sets.  ) 

Pancratium,  sea  daffodil 
Common  white  sea  Narcis 
sus,    with   manv   flowers 
in  a  sheath,  and  tongue- 
shaped  leaves 

Sclavonian,  with  taller 
steins  and  many  white 
flowers,  and  sword-sha 
ped  leaves 

Broad-leaved        American, 
with  large  white  flowers, 
eight  or  ten  in  a  sheath 
Mexican,  with  two  flowers 
Ceylon,  with  one  flower 
Holy    (Allium,)     species    of 
garlic,  producing  flowers 
Broad-leaved  yellow 
|     Great    broad-leaved,    with 

lily  flowers 

Broad  leaved,  with  white 
flowers  in  large  round 
umbels 

Smaller  white  umbellated 
|     Purple 

Rose-colored 

Fumaria  bulbosa,  or  bulbous- 
rooted  fumitory 
I     Greater  purple 
!     Hollow-rooted 
I     American,    with    a    forked 

flower 

Narcissus,   or    daffodil,   com 
mon  double  yellow  daf 
fodil 
i     Single    yellow,     with     the 


48 


BULBOUS    AND 


middle  cup  as  long  as  the  j 
petals 

White,  with  yellow  cups 
Double,  with  several  cups, 

one  within  another 
Common  white   narcissus, 

with  single  flowers 
Double  white  narcissus 
Incomparable,     or     great 
nonsuch,    with     double 
flowers 

With  single  flowers 
Hoop    petticoat  narcissus, 
or  rush-leaved    daffodil, 
with    tire     middle     cup 
larger  than  the  petals,  and 
very  broad  at  the  brim 
Daffodil,  with  white  reflex- 
ed    petals,    and    golden 
cups 
White  daffodil,  with  purple 

cups 

Polyanthus  Narcissus,  having 
many  small  flowers  on  a 
stalk,     from     the     same 
sheath.       Of  this  are  the 
following  varieties: — 
While,  with  white  cups 
Yellow,  with  yellow  cups 
White,  with  yellow  cups 
While,  with  orange  cups 
White,  with  sulpimr-color- 

ed  cups 

Yellow,  with  orange  cups 
Yellow,  with  sulphur-color 
ed  cups 
With  several  intermediate 

varieties 

Autumnal  narcissus 
Jonquil,  common  single 
Large  single 
Common  double 
Double,  with  large  round 
roots 


Liliinn,    the     lily,     common 
white  lily 

With  spotted  or  striped 
flowers 

With  double  flowers 

With  striped  leaves 

White  lilv,  with  hanging  o<" 
pendent  flowers 

Common  orange  lily,  with 
large  single  flowers 

With  double  flowers 

With  stiiped  leaves 

Fiery,  bulb-bearing  lily, 
producing  bulbs  at  tl:o 
joints  of  the  stalks 

Common  narrow  leaved 

Great  broad-leaved 

Many-flowered 

Hoary 

Martagon  lilv,  sometime -t 
called  Turk's-cap,  Iron 
the  reflexed  position  of 
their  flower  -  leaves. — 
There  are  many  varie 
ties,  and  which  diffe  •• 
from  the  other  .sorts  of 
lilies  in  having  the  petal* 
of  their  flowers  reflexed, 
or  turned  backward. — 
The  varieties  are, 

Common  ,red  martagon, 
with  very  narrow  sparsed 
leaves,  or  such  as  grow 
without  order  all  over 
the  flower  stalk 

Double  martagon 

White 

Double  white 

White  spotted 

Scarlet,  with  broad  sparsed 
leaves 

Bright  red,  many-flowered, 
or  pompony,  with  short, 
grassy,  sparsed  leaves 


TUBEROUS-ROOTED    FLOWERS. 


49 


Reddish  hairy  martagon, 
with  leaves  growing  in 
whorls  round  the  stalk 

Great  yellow,  with  pyra 
midal  flowers,  spotted 

Purple,  with  dark  spots, 
and  broad  leaves  in 
whorls  round  the  stalk, 
or  most  common  Turk's 
cap 

White  spotted  Turk's  cap 

Canada  martagon,  with  yel 
lowish  large  flowers  spot 
ted,  and  leaves  in  whorls 

Campscatense  martagon, 
with  erect  bell-shaped 
flowers 

Philadelphia  martagon, 
with  two  erect  bright 
purple  flowers 
Squill*,  sea  onion,  or  lily  hya 
cinth,  common  lily  hya 
cinth,  with  a  lily  root 
and  blue  flower 

Peruvian,  or  broad-leaved 
hyacinth  of  Peru,  with 
blue  flowers 

With  white  flowers 

Early  white  starry  hyacinth 

Blue 

Autumnal  starry  hyacinth 

Larger  starry  blue  hyacinth 
of  Byzantium 

Purple  star-flower  of  Peru 

Italian     blue-spiked     star- 
flower 
Asphodel  lily.   African   blue, 

with  a  tuberous  root 
Tuberose,  or  Indian  tuberous 
hyacinth.  It  produces  a 
small  stem  three  or  four 
feet  high,  adorned  with 
many  white  flowers  of 
great  fragrance. 


The  varieties  are, — 

Fine  double  tuberose 

Single  tuberose 

Small  flowered 

Striped  leaved 

Iris  buibosa,  or  bulbous  iris, 
Persian,  with  three  erect 
blue  petals  called  stand 
ards,  and  three  reflexed 
petals  called  falls,  which 
are  variegated,  called 
Persian  bulbous  ii is,  with 
a  variegaled  flower 

Common  narrow-leaved 
bulbous  iris,  with  a  blue 
flower 

White 

Yellow 

Blue,  with  white  falls 

Blue,  with  yellow  falls 

Greater  broad-leaved  bulb 
ous  iris,  with  a  deep  blue 
flower 

Bright  purple 

Deep  purple 

Variegated 

Great,  with  broad  and  al 
most  plain  or  flat  leaves, 
with  blue  flowers 

Purple 

Of  the  above  there  are 
many  intermediate  varie 
ties 

Hyaeinth,  eastern,  with  large 
flowers.  Of  these  there 
are  many  varieties,  and 
of  which  there  are  in 
numerable  intermediate 
shades  or  tints  of  color. 

Of  double  sorts  there  are — 

Blues 

Purple  blues 

Affatha  blues 

Whites 


50 


BULBOUS    AND 


Whites,  with  yellow  eyes 

Whites,  with  red  eyes 

Whites,  with  violet  or  pur 
ple  eyes 

Whites,  with  rose-colored 
eyes 

Whites,  with  scarlet  eyes 

Reds 

Incarnate,  flesh  or  rose- 
colored 

Of  single  sorts  there  are — 

Blues,  of  various  shades,  as 
above 

Whites 

Reds 

Hose-colored 

With  many  intermediate 
shades  or  varieties 

(Muscaria,)  or  musk  hya 
cinth 

Ash-colored 

White 

Obsolete  purple 

Great  yellow  African 

Grape  hyacinth 

Purple 

Blue 

White 

Red 

Monstrous  flowering,  or 
blue-feathered  hyacinth 

Comosed,  or  tufted  purple 
hyacinth 

Amethystine  blue  hyacinth 

Nodding,  spiked,  red  hya 
cinth 

Non-script,  small  English 
hyacinth,  or  harebells,  of 
the  following  varieties: 

Common,  with  blue  flow 
ers  arranged  on  one  side 
of  the  stalk 

White 

jBell-shaped  blue  hyacinth, 


with  flowers    on    every 
side  of  the  stalk 

Bell-shaped  peach-colored, 
with  flowers  on  one  side 
of  the  stalk 

These  are  very  hardy,  pro] •- 
agating  by  offsets 

Hyacinth,  with  a  pale  pu  •- 

pie  flower 

Colchicums  in  variety 
Leontice,   lion's   leaf,    large.- 1 
yellow,  with  single  foot 
stalks  to  the  leaves 

Smaller  pale  yellow,  wit  i 
blanched  footstalks  tj 
the  leaves 

Cyclamen,  sow-bread,  Eurc - 
pean,  or  common  ai  - 
tunm-flowering,  with  a 
purple  flower,  and  angr- 
lar  heart-shaped  leaves 

The  same,  with  a  blue  i 
flower 

The  same,  with  white  flou- 
ers 

Red  spring  flowering.  T.vit  i 
heart-shaped  leaves,  mar 
bled  with  white 

Entire  white,  sweet-smell 
ing 

Purple  winter -flowering, 
with  plain  or  circular 
shining  green  leaves 

Purple  round-leaved  au 
tumn-flowering 

Small,  or  anemone-roofed 
with  flesh-colored  flow 
ers  appearing  in  autumn 
these  plants  have  large 
round,  solid  roots;  the 
flowers  and  leaves  rise 
immediately  from  the 
root. 


FIBROUS-ROOTED    FLOWERS.  51 


Corona     Regalis,     or     royal 
crown  ;  requires    shelter 


Aconite,  the  winter 
Sisyrinc/iium 


in  the  winter. 

AURICULA,    RANUNCULUS,    ANEMONE. 

These  early  and  beautiful  flowers  deserve  pecu 
liar  notice,  for  no  garden  looks  well  without  them, 
and  their  bright  tints  delight  the  eye  and  mind. 
The  commonest  kinds  are  handsome  and  useful  in 
small  clumps,  and  a  little  care  and  trouble  will 
raise  superb  varieties. 

The  Auricula  loves  a  soil  composed  of  kitchen- 
garden  mould,  sand,  and  cow-dung,  well  mixed  to 
gether;  they  also  like  a  cool  situation.  The  seed 
should  he  sown  in  September,  and  when  sown  give 
it  a  gentle  watering.  By  sowing  the  seed  in  pots 
or  boxes,  you  can  remove  them  from  heavy  rains, 
&c.,  without  trouble,  and  shelter  them  in  the  out 
houses  or  tool-house.  The  seed  seldom  appears 
under  six  months,  and  it  has  been  sometimes  a 
twelvemonth  producing  itself,  therefore  be  not  in 
despair,  but  remain  patient :  these  freaks  of  Nature 
cannot  be  accounted  for.  When  they  flower,  you 
must  single  out  the  plants  which  bear  the  finest  and 
most  choice  blooms,  and  transplant  them  into  pots 
filled  with  the  compost  above  described.  The  com 
mon  sorts  may  be  planted  in  the  borders,  to  remain 
out  and  shift  for  themselves.  By  keeping  the  fine 
auriculas  in  pots,  you  preserve  them  through  the 
winter  easily,  for  heavy  rains  and  cutting  winds  do 
them  harm.  You  can  sink  them  in  their  pots  during 
summer  in  the  flower-beds,  but  let  them  be  shelter 
ed  during  the  winter,  if  you  wish  to  preserve  the 
blooms  uninjured. 

Auriculas  multiply  also  by  suckers,  which  grow 


52  THE    AURICULA    AND    RANUNCULUS. 

on  their  roots.  Take  off  these  in  February,  and 
plunge  them  into  pots  of  the  mould  they  like  best, 
to  root  freely.  They  will  do  so  in  two  months. 
Auriculas  should  not  be  to  much  watered,  as  it 
makes  them  look  sickly,  and  the  leaves  become 
yellow.  When  you  pot  the  auriculas,  sink  them  up 
to  their  leaves  in  the  soil,  but  do  not  press  the  mould 
round  the  plant,  as  the  flowers  bloom  finest  when 
the  roots  touch  the  sides  of  the  flower  pot. 

The  auricula  is  esteemed  fine  that  has  a  low 
stem,  a  stalk  proportioned  to  the  flower,  the  eye 
well  opened  and  always  dry.  The  glossy,  the 
velvet,  and  the  streaked  auriculas  are  the  most  ad 
mired.  The  stalk  should  be  decked  with  many 
flower-bells,  to  be  handsome  and  healthy. 

Take  care  to  pull  oft'  all  dead  leaves  round  the 
plant  at  all  times,  that  it  may  appear  neat  and  clean. 
Neatness  is  favorable  to  its  perfect  growth,  as  well 
as  decorating  it  to  the  eye. 

The  Ranunculus  docs  not  like  being  mixed  up 
with  other  flowers,  and  from  this  "aristocratic 
principle,"  it  is  always  planted  in  separate  knots. 

This  flower  loves  sun  and  warmth.  The  root 
must  be  planted  in  September,  to  bloom  early  in  the 
summer,  and  it  delights  in  a  rich  moist  soil,  well 
dug,  and  raked  soft  and  fine.  When  you  plant 
them  in  beds  or  pots,  they  must  be  sunk  two  inches 
deep,  and  dibble  the  hole  with  a  round,  not  pointed, 
dibble.  Place  the  roots  four  or  five  inches  apart, 
in  the  warmest  situation  in  your  garden.  By  plant 
ing  ranunculuses  in  pots,  you  can  more  easily  place 
them  in  warm  situations,  and  withdraw  them  from 
heavy  rains.  The  more  room  you  give  these  roots 
the  finer  they  will  grow  and  blow.  If  your  plots 
•will  allow  of  so  doing,  let  the  roots  be  planted  six 


RANUNCULUSES  AND  ANEMONES.         53 

or  seven  inches  apart.  The  flowers  will  repay 
your  care.  When  ranunculuses  in  pots  have  flow 
ered,  remove  them  from  the  August  rains,  or  take 
up  the  roots,  to  replant  in  September. 

The  Ranunculus  with  the  double  white  flower 
must  not  be  taken  up  until  September,  when  it 
should  be  taken  up  quickly,  its  roots  parted,  and 
replanted  immediately. 

The  yellow  Ranunculus  with  the  rue  leaf,  pre 
fers  being  potted  to  being  planted  in  beds. 

The  Ranunculus  propagates  by  seed  as  well  as 
offsets.  Sow  the  seed  as  you  do  that  of  the 
auricula. 

The  most  admired  ranunculuses  are  the  white, 
the  golden  yellow,  the  pale  yellow,  the  citron-color 
ed,  and  the  brown  red.  The  red  is  the  least  es 
teemed.  The  yellow  ranunculus  speckled  with 
red,  is  handsome, — also  the  rose-color  with  white 
inside. 

Great  varieties  are  obtained  by  seed. 

The  Anemones  love  a  light  soil,  composed  of 
kitchen-garden  mould,  and  sand,  and  leaf  mould, 
well  mixed,  and  sifted  fine.  It  should,  if  possible, 
be  composed  a  year  before  it  is  used;  the  lighter 
it  is  the  better  for  anemones. 

The  seed  should  be  sown  in  September.  The 
single  flowers  alone  bear  seed,  which  is  fit  to  gath 
er  when  it  appears  ready  to  fly  away  with  the  first 
gust  of  wind.  As  soon  as  the  seed  is  lodged,  and 
raked  smoothly  into  its  fine,  light  bed,  strew  the 
bed  over  with  straw  or  matting,  and  give  it  a  good 
watering.  In  three  weeks  the  seed  will  begin  to 
rise,  when  the  straw  may  be  removed.  The  young 
plants  will  flower  in  the  following  April. 

When  the  roots  are  to  be  planted  in  September, 


54  BIENNIAL    FLOWERS. 

sink  them  about  three  inches  deep,  and  six  inches 
apart,  that  they  may  come  up  strong  and  flower 
well.  Make  a  hole  in  the  ground  for  them  with 
your  finger,  and  set  them  upon  the  broadest  side, 
with  the  slit  downwards. 

Those  anemones  planted  in  September  will  flow 
er  in  March  and  April,  and  the  roots  planted  in 
May,  flower  in  autumn,  but  the  flowers  are  never 
so  fine. 

When  anemones  have  done  flowering,  it  requires 
some  care  in  taking  up  the  roots,  in  order  to  part 
and  put  them  by  till  the  time  for  replanting  arrives. 
The  roots  or  flaps  are  so  small  and  difficult  to  dis 
tinguish,  that  the  earth  should  be  taken  up  and  laid 
upon  a  sieve  to  be  sifted,  when  the  flaps  will  alone 
remain  behind,  or  the  earth  may  be  deposited  upon 
an  open  newspaper  or  cloth,  and  well  rubbed  with 
the  hand  to  feel  for  the  minute,  dark-colored  flaps, 
which  may  easily  escape  observation. 

The  beauty  of  this  flower  consists  in  its  thick 
ness  and  roundness,  especially  when  the  great 
leaves  are  a  little  above  the  thickness  of  the  tuft. 

Choose  your  seed  from  the  finest  single  ane 
mone,  with  a  broad,  round  leaf. 

The  remaining  tuberous-rooted  flowers  are  very 
hardy. 

Biennials. 

Biennial  flowers,  as  the  name  implies,  are  plants 
that  exist  only  two  years.  They  are  propagated  by 
seed,  rising  the  first  year,  and  flowering  the  second. 
If  they  continue  another  year,  they  are  sickly  and 
languid.  The  double  biennials  may  be  continued 
by  cuttings  and  slips  of  the  tops,  as  well  as  by  lay-* 
ers  and  pipings,  though  the  parent  flower  dies, — 'but 


LIST    OF    HARDY    BIENNIALS. 


55 


they  are  not  so  fine.  A  lady  should  have  a  space 
of  ground  allotted  to  hiennial  seedlings,  so  that  a 
fresh  succession  of  plants  may  be  ready  to  supply 
the  place  of  those  which  die  away.  The  seeds 
should  be  sown  every  spring  in  light,  well-dug 
earth  ;  the  young  plants  should  be  kept  very  clean, 
and  some  inches  apart  from  each  other  ;  and  they 
must  be  finally  transplanted  in  autumn  into  the 
beds  where  they  are  intended  to  remain. 

But  there  is  a  great  uncertainty  as  to  raising  the 
double  flowers  ;  therefore  it  is  better  to  make  sure- 
of  those  you  approve  by  perpetuating  them  as  long 
as  you  can,  by  any  root  offsets  they  may  throw  off; 
by  pipings,  cuttings,  or  by  layers,  as  before  noticed. 
I  subjoin  a  list  of  the  principal  and  useful  biennials. 

LIST    OF    HARDY    BIENNIALS. 


Canterbury  Bells 
Blue-flowered 
While 
Purple 
Pyramidal 

Carnation.     All  the  varieties, 
somewhat      biennial  pe 
rennial. 
Clary,  Purple-topped 

Red-topped 
Colutea,  ^Ethiopian 
French  Honeysuckle 
Red 
White 
•Globe  thistle 

Hollyhocks.  Somewhat  bien 
nial-perennial  ;  all  the 
varieties;  always  by 
seed. 

Lunaria,  Moomvort  or  Hon 
esty 
Mallow  (Tree) 


Poppy,  Yellow-horned  (Che- 

lidonium  glaucum) 
Rocket,  Dame's  violet 

Single  white 

Double  white 

Double  purple 

Single  purple 
Rose  Campion 

Red 

White 
Scabius,  double 

Dark  purple-flowered 

Dark-red 

WLite 

Starry  purple-flowered 

Starry  white 

Jasged  leaved  starry 
Stock  Gilliflower 

Brompton 

Queen 

Twickenham 
I  Siccet-iciUiam 


56  HARDY    BIENNIALS. 


Common  upright  tall  yel 
low 

Small-flowered 
WM-flower 

Yellow-flowered 

Bloody 

White 

Double  of  each 
Night  Stock 
Petunia 

White 

Lilac 


Red 

Scarlet 

Purple 

Red,  white-bordered 

Party-colored 

Variegated 

Painted  Lady 

Double  of  each 

Mule,  or  Mongrel  Sweet- 
william,  or  Mule  Pink 
Tree  mallow    (Lavertera  ar- 
borea) 

Tree  Primrose 

When  you  make  your  seedling-bed  or  nursery, 
cover  it  over  with  straw,  or  fern,  or  matting,  during 
frost ;  and  to  prevent  the  birds  pecking  up  the 
seeds,  it  is  requisite  to  protect  the  bed  by  strewing 
light  boughs  of  thorn  bushes  over  it,  or  fixing  a  net 
upon  sticks  as  a  covering,  till  the  plants  appear.  If 
cats,  dogs,  or  poultry  intrude  into  the  flower-garden, 
it  is  in  vain  to  hope  for  enjoyment. 

Sow  your  biennial  seeds  in  March,  April,  or 
May.  I  recommend  May,  because  the  young  plants 
in  that  month  germ  and  vegetate  quickly,  surely, 
and  without  requiring  defences  from  the  frost. 
Plant  them  out  in  October,  with  a  ball  of  earth  to 
each  root,  where  they  are  to  remain. 

The  Stock  Gilliflowers  in  particular,  having  long, 
naked  roots,  must  be  planted  out  very  young,  other 
wise  they  do  not  succeed  well. 

Honesty  is  a  very  early,  rich-flowering  biennial, 
which  requires  no  care;  they  shed  their  seed,  rise, 
and  flower,  without  any  assistance,  in  profusion. 
The  only  trouble  is  to  weed  it  out  of  the  beds,  that 
they  may  not  stand  in  the  way  of  other  flowers. 

Canterbury  Bells  are  handsome  flowers,  and  will 
bloom  a  long  time  if  you  cut  off  the  bells  as  they 
decay. 


CARNATIONS,  57 

The  deep  crimson  Sweet-williams  are  most  es 
teemed,  though  every  variety  looks  well. 

Sweet-williams  may  be  increased  by  layers  and 
cuttings,  which  is  the  only  sure  way  of  securing 
the  sorts  you  like  ;  for  you  may  sow  seed  every 
year,  and  not  one  in  a  thousand  will  reward  you 
by  coming  up  double. 

Carnations  are  the  pride  of  a  garden,  and  de 
serve  great  care  and  attention.  The  common  sorts, 
which  are  planted  in  borders,  should  have  a  good 
rich  earth  about  them,  and  be  treated  like  the  pink ; 
but  the  finer  sorts  should  always  be  potted,  to  pro 
tect  and  shelter  the  plant  from  hares,  rabbits, 
heavy  rains,  and  severe  frost  in  the  winter.  Re 
fresh  the  top  of  the  pots  with  new  soil  in  June, 
and  keep  the  plants  free  from  decayed  leaves. 
Gently  stir  the  earth  round  each  plant  occasion 
ally  ;  and  as  plants  in  pots  require  more  water  than 
if  placed  in  the  ground,  let  the  carnations  be  gently 
moistened  about  every  other  day  during  dry  weath 
er.  Let  the  watering  take  place  in  the  evening  ; 
no  flower  will  endure  being  watered  during  the 
heat  of  a  summer's  day.  Carnations  love  sand  and 
salt  in  proper  proportions.  The  brine  which  is  de 
posited  upon  the  compost  heap,  will  answer  every 
purpose  of  salts,  (if  it  be  regularly  carried  out,) 
without  adding  common  salt :  but  let  this  be  par 
ticularly  attended  to.  The  cook  should  deposit  her 
pickle  and  brine  to  good  purpose  upon  the  compost 
heap,  instead  of  splashing  it  down  in  front  of  her 
kitchen  door. 

Let  each  plant  be  well  staked,  and  neatly  tied  to 

its  supporter ;    and  do  not  allow  two  buds  to  grow 

side  by  side  upon  the   same   stem,   for  one  will 

weaken  the  other.     Pinch  off  the   smaller   bud. 

6 


58  HOLLYHOCKS. 

Carnations  love  warmth  ;  therefore  give  them  a 
sunny  aspect  to  blow  in.  The  seedling  plants  may 
be  treated  like  young  pinks,  but  this  difference 
must  be  observed  ; — pinks  love  shade,  and  carna 
tions  love  warmth.  A  bed  of  carnations  is  a  beau 
tiful  object.  The  pots  can  always  be  sunk  in  a 
border  or  bed  in  fine  weather.  Carnations  may  be 
layered,  or  piped,  or  slipped  for  propagation. 

Water  your  carnations  in  pots  once  a  week  with 
lime  water,  if  they  appear  drooping,  for  this  pro 
ceeds  from  a  worm  at  the  root ;  but  the  brine  will 
destroy  all. insects  quickly,  when  poured  upon  the 
compost  heap. 

In  propagating  double  Wall-flowers,  take  slips 
of  the  young  shoots  of  the  head :  this  will  perpet 
uate  the  double  property  and  color  of  the  flower 
from  which  they  were  slipped.  In  saving  seed  for 
wall-flowers,  choose  the  single  flowers,  which  have 
five  petals  or  flower  leaves.  Double  flowers  have 
no  seed. 

Water  the  slips,  and  keep  them  shady  and  moist: 
they  will  root  by  September. 

Plant  your  Hollyhocks  in  September  or  October, 
where  they  are  to  remain.  Hollyhocks  are  a  noble 
flower,  and  they  love  a  strong  soil.  Let  a  succes 
sion  of  these  flower  plants  be  attended  to  in  the 
biennial  seed-bed.  Keep  them  some  inches  apart 
from  each  other  in  the  seedling-bed,  for  they  form 
large  straggling  roots.  The  hollyhock  looks  well 
in  clumps  of  three,  at  a  good  distance  apart,  in 
large  gardens  or  shrubberies,  but  they  are  some 
what  too  overgrown  for  smaller  parterres. 

Be  particular  in  gathering  your  seeds  on  a  fine, 
dry  day,  and  put  each  sort  in  a  separate  brown 
paper  bag  till  you  require  them.  The  very  finest 


BIENNIALS.  59 

seedlings  are.  after  all,  those  which  spring  near 
the  mother  plant  from  self-sown  seed,  therefore, 
when  you  weed  or  dig  your  flower  borders,  be 
careful  not  to  disturb  any  seedlings  which  may 
have  sprung  up.  They  always  make  strong,  fine 
blooming  plants. 

Take  care  of  your  double-flowering  plants  in 
winter.  The  double  wall-flower  is  hardy  enough 
to  exist  in  the  borders,  but  the  other  double  bien 
nials  deserve  to  be  sheltered,  for  double  flowers  are 
very  handsome,  and  heavy  rains,  snow,  or  severe 
frost,  injure  them.  Take  cuttings  every  year  from, 
them. 

The  Night  Stock  is  tolerable  hardy  if  sheltered 
during  the  frost  by  ashes  or  litter.  The  sweetness- 
after  night-fall  must  recommend  it  to  all  lovers  of 
fragrant  flowers. 

PROPAGATING    BIENNIALS. 

Every  young  lady  must  become  acquainted  with 
the  manner  of  operating  upon  plants,  to  preserve 
the  finer  sorts,  which  they  may  wish  to  perpetuate. 
Raising  from  seed  is  slow,  but  it  produces  infinite 
variety.  You,  however,  rarely  see  the  same  flower 
produced  twice  from  seed ;  therefore  you  must 
propagate  the  biennial  and  perennial  flowers  by 
layers,  slips,  pipings,  and  cuttings,  if  you  wish  to 
preserve  any  particular  sorts. 

To  effect  layers,  prepare  some  rich,  light  earth, 
a  parcel  of  small  hooked  sticks,  or  little  pegs,  and 
a  sharp  penknife. 

Now  clear  the  ground  about  the  plant  you  are 
going  to  layer ;  stir  the  surface  well  with  your 
trowel,  and  put  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  pre- 


60  LAYERS  AND  PIPINGS. 

pared  mould  round  the  plant  as  will  raise  the  sur 
face  to  a  convenient  height  for  receiving  the  layer. 

Cut  off  the  top  of  each  shoot  with  your  knife, 
about  two  inches,  and  pull  off  the  lower  leaves  ; 
then  fix  upon  a  joint  about  the  middle  of  the  shoot, 
arid,  placing  your  knife  under  it,  slit  the  shoot  from 
that  joint,  rather  more  than  half  way  up,  towards 
the  joint  above  it. 

Now  make  an  opening'  in  the  earth,  and  lay  the 
stem,  and  slit  or  gashed  shoot,  into  it,  and  peg  it 
down  ;  taking  care  to  raise  the  head  of  the  shoot 
as  upright  as  you  can,  that  it  may  grow  shapely; 
then  cover  it  with  the  new7  mould,  and  press  the 
mould  gently  round  it.  Do  this  by  each  shoot  till 
the  plant  is  layered — that  is,  till  every  shoot  is  laid 
down.  They  must  be  watered  often  in  dry  weath 
er,  but  moderately,  not  to  disturb  or  wash  away  the 
soil  round  the  layers.  In  six  weeks'  time,  each 
gashed  or  slit  shoot  will  have  rooted  and  become  a 
distinct  plant.  They  may  be  taken  away  from  the 
old  parent  stem  in  September,  and  dug  up  with  a 
ball  of  earth  round  each  root,  to  be  transplanted 
into  the  plots  or  borders  where  they  are  to  remain. 

Carnations,  pinks,  sweet-williams,  double  wall 
flowers,  &c.,  are  the  flowers  most  deserving  of 
layers. 

Piping,  which  belongs  almost  exclusively  to  car 
nations  and  pinks,  is  a  most  expeditious  mode  of 
raising  young  plants. 

Take  off  the  upper  and  young  part  of  each  shoot, 
close  below  a  joint,  with  a  sharp  knife,  and  cut 
each  off  at  the  third  joint,  or  little  knob  ;  then  cut 
the  top  leaves  down  pretty  short,  and  take  off  the 
lower  and  discolored  ones.  When  you  have  piped 
in  this  way  as  many  as  you  require,  let  them  stand 


PROPAGATING    BIENNIALS.  61 

a  week  in  a  tumbler  of  water,  which  greatly  facili 
tates  their  doing  well.  Indeed,  I  never  failed  in 
any  pipings,  slips,  or  cuttings,  which  I  allowed  to 
soak  and  swell  in  water  previous  to  planting. 
When  you  plant  the  pipings,  let  the  ground  be  nice 
ly  dug,  and  raked  very  tine  ;  dibble  no  hole,  but 
gently  thrust  each  piping  half  way  down  into  the 
soft  earth,  slightly  pressing  the  earth  round  each,  to 
fix  it  in  the  bed.  Water  them  often  if  the  weather 
is  dry,  but  moderately,  just  to  keep  them  moist ; 
and  shade  them  from  the  hot  sun  in  the  day.  If 
pipings  are  covered  with  a  hand-glass,  they  root 
earlier,  by  three  weeks,  than  those  which  are  ex 
posed. 

Laying,  piping,  and  slipping,  are  done  in  June 
and  July.  The  plants  will  be  well  rooted,  and  fit 
to  plant  out  in  October. 

The  operation  of  slipping  is  easy.  Tear  the  top 
shoots  of  the  plant  to  be  so  propagated,  gently  from 
their  sockets  ;  hold  the  shoot  between  your  finger 
and  thumb,  as  near  the  socket  as  you  can,  and  it 
will  tear  as  easily  and  neatly  as  you  carve  the  wing 
of  poultry  or  game.  Place  the  slips  in  water  for  a 
few  days  previous  to  planting  them,  like  pipings. 
They  will  root  in  six  weeks  or  two  months,  if  kept 
shady  and  moist. 

Cuttings  must  be  made  of  shoots  of  the  last  year's 
growth  of  roses,  honeysuckles,  &c.,  and  planted  in 
February.  Choose  the  strong  shoots,  and  do  not 
cut  them  less  than  six  inches  long.  Cut  them  with 
your  knife  in  a  slanting  direction.  Plant  them  in 
a  shady  place,  each  cutting  half  way  in  the  ground, 
which  should  be  cleaned,  and  well  dug  and  raked, 
to  receive  them.  Cuttings  made  in  February,  will 
root  well  by  October. 
6* 


62  PROTECTION    FOR    CUTTINGS. 

Cuttings  of  flower  stalks,  such  as  scarlet  lychnis, 
should  be  done  in  May,  June,  and  July.  Take  cut 
tings  from  the  youngest  flower  stems,  and  plant 
them  carefully  in  nice  mould,  like  pipings.  These 
flower  cuttings  should  be  in  lengths  of  four  joints 
each.  Covering  them  with  a  hand-glass  raises 
them  very  quickly.  They  root  in  two  months. 

When  hand-glasses  are  not  to  form  any  part  of 
a  lady's  arrangements,  oil-papered  frames  are  equal 
ly  useful.  I  have  seen  very  economical  and  useful 
frames  made  of  bamboo,  in  the  form  of  hand-glass 
es,  covered-neatly  with  glazed  white  cotton  or  linen, 
or  horn  paper,  made  by  a  lady  with  great  celerity 
and  ingenuity  ;  arid  her  cuttings  and  pipings  suc 
ceeded  under  them  admirably.  Whatever  shelters 
cuttings  and  pipings  from  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
effects  a  material  purpose.  Linen  is  the  best  shel 
ter  in  the  world  from  heat,  but  oiled  or  horn  paper 
resists  rain  better. 

Dr.  Priestly  is  of  opinion  that  salt  water  is  very 
efficacious  for  cuttings,  if  they  are  placed  in  it  for 
a  few  days  previous  to  planting.  He  remarks  that 
it  is  a  custom  with  the  importers  of  exotic  plants, 
to  dip  cuttings  in  salt  and  water,  otherwise  they 
would  perish  on  the  passage. 


63 


CHAPTER  IV. 


ANNUALS. 

ANNUALS,  as  I  have  observed  before,  are  flowers 
that  rise,  bloom,  and  die  in  the  same  year ;  and 
must  therefore  be  raised  from  seed  every  spring. 

The  first  class  of  annuals,  being  very  delicate, 
and  requiring  great  care,  with  the  constant  assist 
ance  of  glass  frames,  I  shall  not  even  name,  since 
they  do  not  enter  into  the  nature  of  my  work. 

I  proceed  to  the  second  class,  which  are  hardier 
than  the  above,  though  they  should  be  raised  in  a 
warm  border,  and  be  covered  with  a  hand-glass,  if 
you  wish  them  to  flower  in  good  time. 

The  ten  weeks'  Stocks  will  grow,  if  sown  in  a 
warm  border,  towards  the  end  of  March,  and 
should  be  afterwards  transplanted  ;  but  if  brought 
up  in  a  hot-bed,  they  will  flower  a  month  or  six 
weeks  earlier. 

The  China-aster,  Chrysanthemum,  white  and 
purple  Sultan,  African  and  French  Marigolds,  Per- 
sicarias,  &c.,  will  grow  well  in  a  warm  border  of 
natural  earth,  if  sown  in  April ;  but  they  also  flow 
er  a  month  earlier  if  they  are  assisted  by  a  hot-bed 
or  glass.  These  annuals  must  be  all  planted  out 
when  tolerably  strong,  into  the  spots  where  they 
are  destined  to  remain  in  the  borders,  taking  care 
to  allow  each  plant  plenty  of  space,  that  they  may 
not  crowd  each  other.  The  China-aster  branches 


64  SOWING    ANXUALS, 

into  many  stems  and  flowers,  therefore  they  may 
be  planted  singly,  .or  not  less  than  six  inches  apart. 
The  July  flowers,  or  more  commonly  called  gilli- 
flowers,  become  expansive  as  they  increase.  They 
should  not  be  crowded  together  ;  three  in  a  group 
are  quite  sufficient,  and  they  should  be  six  inches 
apart.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  stock  varie 
ties. 

I  have  ever  found  the  hardy  annuals  grow  fines . 
by  allowing  them  to  become  self-sown.  The} 
flower  some  weeks  earlier,  and  invariably  product 
larger  and -brighter  flowers. 

When  gathering  my  flower  seeds  in  August  am: 
September,  I  allow  one  half  to  remain  sprinkled 
over  the  borders;  and  the  young  plants  never  fail 
appearing  healthy  and  strong  above  ground  ir, 
March  and  April,  the  months  appropriated  to  sow 
ing  the  seed.  Thus,  my  Lavateras,  Larkspurs. 
&c.,  are  in  beautiful  blow,  while  the  second  crop, 
or  seed  sown  in  the  spring,  are  but  showing  their 
green  heads  above  the  surface.  I  weed  away  the 
superfluous  self-sown  plants  to  my  taste  ;  but  the 
birds  take  care  that  no  one  shall  be  encumbered 
with  superfluity.  I  have  by  this  means  a  first  and 
second  crop  of  the  same  annuals,  but  the  crop  of 
self-sown  are  far  superior.  They  are  up  before 
the  heats  come  on  to  dry  the  earth,  and  dwindle 
the  flower. 

Dig  the  ground  well  with  your  trowel,  and  rake 
it  very  fine,  before  you  put  in  the  seeds  in  spring. 
Annuals  love  a  light,  friable  soil.  All  the  hardy 
kinds  may  be  sown  in  March,  each  sort  in  little 
separate  patches,  as  follows  : — 

Draw  a  little  earth  off  the  top  to  one  side,  then 
sprinkle  in  the  seed,  not  too  plentifully,  and  cover 


ANNUALS.  65 

it  again  with  the  drawn-off  earth.  Half  an  inch  is 
sufficient  depth  for  small  seed.  The  larger  kind, 
such  as  sweet-peas,  lupins,  &c.,  must  be  sown  an 
inch  in  depth.  When  the  plants  have  been  up 
some  time,  thin  them  well.  The  more  space  you 
have,  the  finer  the  plants  will  rise. 

The  hardy  annuals  will  not  bear  transplanting  : 
they  must  be  left  to  flourish  where  they  are  sown. 
The  large  kinds,  such  as  the  lavatera  or  mallow, 
should  only  be  sown  in  groups  of  three  plants  to 
gether.  The  lupin  tribe  should  not  exceed  five 
plants  in  a  group.  The  Convolvulus,  also,  requires 
four  or  five  plants  only  in  a  group.  Water  the 
patches  in  dry  weather  moderately,  and  be  careful 
never  to  use  pump  water.  If  you  have  no  soft 
water,  a  tub  should  be  placed  in  the  garden  to  re 
ceive  rain  water;  and  if,  as  in  towns,  pump  water 
must  be  chiefly  used,  let  it  remain  a  day  or  two  in 
the  tub,  to  soften  in  the  air  and  sunshine. 

The  first  week  in  April  is  the  safest  period  for 
sowing  annuals,  as  the  cutting  winds  have  ceased 
by  that  time,  and  frost  is  not  so  much  to  be  appre 
hended.  The  soft  rains,  also,  fall  in  warm  showers, 
to  give  life  and  germ  to  seeds  and  plants,  and  they 
appear  in  a  shorter  space  of  time. 

Those  ladies  who  live  in  the  vicinity  of  nursery 
gardens,  have  a  great  advantage  over  the  more  re 
mote  flower-fanciers.  They  can  be  supplied,  at  a 
trifling  expense,  with  all  the  tender  annuals  from 
hot-beds,  either  in  pots,  or  drawn  ready  for  imme 
diate  transplanting. 

If  you  do  not  raise  your  own  seed,  be  careful 
how  you  purchase  your  stock,  and  of  whom  you 
receive  it.  Many  seedsmen  sell  the  refuse  of 
many  years'  stock  to  their  youthful  customers,  and 


66  SWEET-PEAS. 

produce  great  disappointment.  There  is  one  way" 
of  ascertaining  the  goodness  of  the  seed,  which 
will  not  deceive.  Previous  to  sowing,  plunge  yoi  r 
lupin,  sunflower,  &c.,  seeds  into  a  tumbler  of  water : 
the  good  seed  will  sink,  while  the  light  and  useless 
part  remains  floating  on  the  surface. 

If  you  grow  your  own  seed,  exchange  it  everf 
two  years  with  your  neighbors.  Seeds  love  chan° ^ 
of  soil  :  they  degenerate,  if  repeatedly  grown  an  1 
sown  upon  the  same  spot,  particularly  sweet-pea.1- . 

.Sweet-peas  should  be  put  into  the  ground  earl/ 
in  March,,  for  they  will  bear  the  wind  and  weather. 
Make  a  circle  round  a  pole,  or  some  object  to  whic'i 
they  may  cling  as  they  rise;  and  put  the  peas  ai 
inch  deep,  having  soaked  them  previously  in  water 
well  saturated  with  arsenic,  to  guard  them  from  tin) 
depredations  of  birds  and  mice.  Add  an  outer  cir- 
.cle  of  peas  every  month,  so  that  a  continual  bloom 
may  appear.  The  circle  first  sown  will  ripen  and 
•pod  for  seed  in  the  centre,  while  the  outer  vines 
will  continue  flowering  till  late  in  the  autumn 
When  you  have  gathered  a  sufficient  number  o'v 
ripe  pods,  cut  away  all  the  pods  vvuich  may  after 
wards  form,  with  your  knife.  This  strengthens 
the  vines,  and  throws  all  their  vigor  into  repeated 
blooms. 

Be  very  careful  to  throw  away  the  arsenic  water 
upon  your  heap  of  compost,  and  do  not  put  that 
powerful  poison  into  any  thing  which  may  be  used 
afterwards  in  the  house.  Soak  the  peas  in  a  flow 
er-pot  saucer,  which  is  never  required  for  any  other 
purpose,  and  keep  it  on  a  shelf  in  the  tool-house, 
covered  up.  Three  or  four  hours'  soaking  will  be 
sufficient.  If  the  wind  and  frosts  be  powerful  and 
continued,  shelter  the  peas  through  March,  by  cov 
ering  them  with  straw  or  matting  every  evening. 


ANNUALS.  67 

I  have  got  sweet-peas  into  very  early  blow  by 
bringing  them  up  in  pots  in-doors,  and  transplanting 
them  carefully  in  April,  without  disturbing  the 
roots.  In  doing  this,  push  your  finger  gently 
through  the  orifice  at  the  bottom  of  the  flower-pot, 
and  raise  its  contents  "  bodily."  Then  place  the 
ball  of  earth  and  plants  into  a  hole  trowelled  out  to 
receive  it;  cover  it  round  gently,  and,  if  the  weath 
er  is  dry,  water  it  moderately. 

Ten-weeks'  stock  is  a  very  pretty  annual,  and 
continues  a  long  time  in  bloom.  Mignionette  is 
the  very  sweetest  of  all  perfumes,  and  should  be 
sown  in  September  for  early  blowing,  and  again  in 
March  for  a  later  crop.  It  is  always  more  perfumy 
and  healthy,  if  dug  into  the  ground  in  autumn  to 
sow  itself.  Venus'  Looking-glass  is  a  very  pretty, 
delicate  flower.  Indeed,  every  annual  is  lovely  ; 
and  the  different  varieties  give  a  gay  and  rich  ap 
pearance  to  the  flower-garden  during  the  three 
summer  months. 

The  Clarkias  are  very  pretty  annuals,  with  a 
hundred  other  varieties  lately  introduced,  and  which 
are  all  specified  in  Mrs.  Loudon's  new  work  upon 
annuals.  My  plan  is,  to  give  a  general  idea  of 
their  treatment  only,  under  the  classification  of 
hardy  annuals,  or  those  annuals  which  may  be  nur 
tured  without  a  hot-bed. 

Keep  your  annuals  from  looking  wild  and  disor 
derly  in  a  garden,  by  allotting  the  smaller  kinds 
their  separate  patches  of  ground  ;  and  trim  the 
larger  annuals  from  branching  among  other  flowers. 
For  instance,  cut  away  the  lowest  branches  of  the 
China-aster,  the  African  marigold,  &c.,  and  train 
the  plant  erect  and  neatly  to  a  slight  rod  or  stick ; 
cut  away  the  flowers  as  they  droop,  reserving  one 


C3 


LIST    OF    ANNUALS. 


or  two  of  the  finest  blooms  only  for  seed ;  and  et 
each  plant  look  clean  and  neat  in  its  own  order. 
By  cutting  away  flowers  as  they  droop,  the  plant  le- 
tains  vigor  enough  to  continue  throwing  out  fre  sh 
flowers  for  a  long  period. 


SECOND.   OR    LESS   TENDER    CLASS   OF   ANNUALS. 


African  marigold,  the  orange 

Yellow 

Straw  colored 

Double  of  each 

Double-quilled 
Frencli  marigold,  the  striped 

The  yellow 

Sweet-scented 
China-aster,  the  double 

Double  purple 

Double  white 

Double  striped 
Marvel  of  Peru,  the  red  striped 

Yellow-striped 

Long-tubed 

Chrysanthemum,    the    double 
white 

Double  yellow 

Double-quilled 
Siccct  Sultan,  the  yellow 

White 

Red 
Indian  Pink,  double 

Single 

Large  imperial 
A  Ikekengi 
Palma  Christi,  the  common 

Tall  red-stalked 

Smaller  green-leaved 

Smallest 
Tobacco,  long-leaved  Virginia 

Broad-leaved 

Branching  perennial 
Lore  Apple,  with  red  fruit 

With  yellow  fruit 


Gourds,  the    round,   smoc  th 

orange 

Rock,  or  warted 
Pear-shaped  yellow 
Pear-shaped  striped 
Stone-colored 

Bottle     Gourd,     some     very 
large,  from  two  or  three- 
lo  five  or  six  feet  loi  g,. 
and  of  various  shapes 
Nomordica  Balsamina 
Persicaria 
Indian  Corn,  the  tall 

Dwarf 

Nolana  Prostrata,  blue 
Convolvulus,  scarlet-flowered 
Yellow  Balsam,  or  Touch-me- 
not 

Capsicum,  long  red-}) odd ed 
Long  yellow  podded 
Red,  short,  thick,  roundish 

podded 

With  heart-shaped  pods 
With  cherry-shaped   fruit, 

red 

Cherry-shaped  fruit,  yellow 
Basil,  the  common,  or  sweet- 
scented 
Bush  basil 
Zinnia,  red 

Yellow 
Amaranthus 
Tree  Amaranthus 
Prince's    feather    amaran 
th  us 


HARDY    ANNUALS. 


69 


Love-lies-bleeding  amaran- 

thns 
Cunnacorus,  yellow 

Red 

Chinese  hollyhock,  the  varie 
gated 

Ten-week  Stock  GilUflower 
The  double  red 
Double  white 


Double  pnrple 
White   Ten-week  Stock,  with  a 
wallflower  leaf 

With  double  and  single 
flowers 

The  double  of  this  sort 
makes  a  pretty  appear 
ance 


The  following  are  hardy  annuals,  requiring  no 
assistance  of  artificial  heat,  but  should  all  be  sown 
in  the  places  where  it  is  designed  they  shall  flower  : 


Adonis  Floicer,or  Flos  Adonis, 
the  red-flowering 

The  yellow 
Candytuft,  the  large 

Puiple 

White 
Larkspur,  the  double  rose 

Double-branched 

Large  blue  double 

Doable  white 
Lupins,  the  rose 

Large  blue 

Small  blue 

Yellow 

White 

Scarlet 

Marbled 
Sunfloicer,  the  tall  double 

Double  dwarf 
Latatera,  red 

White 

Poppy,  the  double  tall  striped 
carnation 

Dwarf-striped 

Double  corn  poppy 

Horned  poppy 
Convolvulus,  major 

Minor 

Striped 


White 

Scarlet 

Ketmin,  bladder 
Starry  Scabious 
Haickweed,  the  yellow 

Purple,  or  red 

Spanish 

Carthamns  tinctorius,  or  saf 
fron-flower 
Nasturtium,  the  large 

Small 

Cerinthe  major,  or  great  Ho 
ney-wort 
Tangier  Pea 
Sweet  Pea,  the  painted  lady 

The  purple 

White 

Scarlet 
Winged  Pea 
Crown  Pea 

Nigella,  or  devil  in  a  bush,  the 
long  blue  or  Spanish 

The  white 

Oriental  mallow,  curled 

Venitian  mallow 
Labels    Catchfy,    white   and 

red 

Arbiscus 
•  Pimpernel 


70 


HARDY    ANNUALS. 


Dwarf  Lychnis 

Venus''  Navel  wort 

Venus1  Looking  glass 

Virginian  Stock 

Strawberry  Spinach 

Nuli  me  tangere,  or  touch  me- 

riot 

Heart's  Ease 
Snail  Plant 

Large  ditto 
Caterpillar  Plant 
Hedgehog  Plant 
Antirrhinum,       snap-dragon,. 

the  annual 
Nolana,  b  ue 

Cyanus,  or    corn-bottle,    the 
red 

White      . 

Blue 

Roman  Nettle 

Bdcidcre,  or  summer  cypress 

Garden,  or  common  Marigold, 

ttie  com, non  single 

Double  orange 

Double  lemon-colored 


Double  lemon-colored   ra 
nunculus  marigold 
Anniial  Cape  Marigold,  \v  th 
a  violet  and  white  Hower 
Mignionclte,   or  reseda,    tie 

sweet-scented 
The  upright 
Xeranthenium,  or  eternal  flo'v- 

er,  red  and  white 
Purple  Clan/ 
Purple  Jacubira 
Drticoccplialum,  the  purple 

Blue 

Capnoi/leSf   or  bastard  fumi 
tory 
Ten-iowk    Stock    GiWjloweist, 

in. variety 
Per  sic  <tria 
Tobacco  Plant 
Long-leaved 
Koun  1-leaved 
Indian  Corn 
Antcthi/tttca 
Globe  'Thistle 
Clarkias* 


71 
CHAPTER  V. 

ROSES    AND    JASMINES. 

THESE  most  delicious,  most  elegant  flowers — in 
themselves  a  garden — are  worthy  of  a  chapter  de 
voted  exclusively  to  their  culture.  What  cottage 
exists  without  its  roses  twined  around  the  door 
way,  or  blooming  up  its  pathway  ?  What  is  senti 
ment  without  its  roses  ?  What  'other  flower  illus 
trates  the  beauty  and  excellence  of  a  loved  one  ? — 

"  Oh !  my  love  is  like  the  red,  red  rose, 
That  sweetly  blows  in  June." 

Every  gentle  feeling,  every  exquisite  thought,  every 
delicate  allusion,  is  embodied  in  the  rose.  It  is 
absurd  to  say  the  rose  by  another  name  "  would 
smell  as  sweet."  It  is  not  so.  Poetry,  painting, 
and  music,  have  deified  the  rose.  Call  it  "  nettle," 
and  we  should  cast  it  from  our  hands  in  disgust. 

There  are  innumerable  varieties  of  roses,  fiom 
the  cottage  rose  to  the  fairy  rose,  whose  buds  are 
scarcely  so  large  as  the  bells  of  the  lily  of  the 
valley.  Mrs.  Gore  mentions  some  hundreds  of 
sorts,  but  such  a  catalogue  is  too  mighty  to  insert  in 
my  little  work.  I  will  name  only  the  well-known 
hardy  kinds,  and  refer  my  reader  to  Mrs.  Gore  her 
self  for  the  complete  collection.  Seed  yields  such 
inexhaustable  varieties,  that  a  new  list  will  be  re 
quired  every  ten  years. 

The  Damask  rose  is  very  useful  from  its  proper 
ties,  as  well  as  its  beauty  and  hardihood.  Rose- 


72 


ROSES. 


water  is  distilled  from  this  bright,  thickly-blowing 
flower. 

The  Cabbage  rose  is  the  most  beautiful,  as  well 
as  the  most  fragrant  of  roses.  All  others  are  vari 
eties  of  roses,  but  this  grand  flower  is  the  "  ros  3 
itself." 

It  throws  out  suckers  plentifully  for  propagatin  j 
its  kind  ;  and  every  two  or  three  years,  the  root  cf 
each  bush  will  part  into  separate  plants.  Cut  th  3 
roots  slanting  with  a  sharp  knife  as  you  divicb 
them.  A  very  small  bit  of  root  is  suflicient  for  i 
rose-bush,  as  they  are  hardy  in  their  nature.  D  :> 
not  move  roses  oftener  than  you  can  help :  the/ 
delight  in  being  stationary  for  years. 

In  pruning  roses  of  every  description,  whic'i 
should  be  effected  in  January,  shorten  all  the  shoots 
to  nine  inches  only,  and  cut  away  all  the  old  wooc  , 
which  becomes  useless  after  two  or  three  year.-' 
growth.  This  treatment  ensures  fine  flowers. 

Roses  love  a  good  soil,  as,  indeed,  what  flower 
does  not  ?  Fresh  mould  applied  to  them  every  two 
or  three  years,  or  manure  dug  round  them  annually, 
preserves  them  in  constant  vigor  and  beauty. 

Shoots  of  rose-bushes  laid  down  and  pegged  liko 
layers,  only  without  gashing,  when  the  flowers  aro 
in  bloom,  will  root  and  become  plants  in  the  autumn. 
Pinch  off  the  buds,  that  they  may  throw  their 
strength  into  their  roots. 

Roses  are  often  observed  to  change  their  color, 
which  effect  proceeds  chiefly  from  bad  soil.  When 
this  occurs,  manure  the  root  of  the  bush  or  plant. 
A  clay  soil,  well  dressed  with  ashes,  is  the  best  of 
all  soils  for  the  hardy  roses. 

Moss  roses  love  a  cool  soil  and  a  cool  aspect. 
They  soon  fade  in  a  hot  sun. 


ROSES. 


73 


The  origin  of  this  exquisitely  beautiful  variety, 
the  Moss  Rose,  is  thus  fancifully  accounted  for : 

The  Angel  of  the  flowers,  one  day, 

Beneath  a  Rose  Tree  sleeping  lay, 

That  Spirit  to  whose  charge  is  given 

To  bathe  young  buds  in  dews  from  heaven. 

Awaking  from  his  high  repose, 

The  Angel  whispered  to  the  Rose: 

"  O  fondest  object  of  my  care, 

Still  fairest  found  where  all  are  fair, 

For  the  sweet  shade  thou'st  given  to  me, 

Ask  what  thou  wilt,  'tis  granted  thee." 

Then  said  the  Rose  with  deepening  glow, 
"  On  me  another  grace  bestow." 
The  Spirit  paused  in  silent  thought — 
What  grace  was  there  that  flower  had  not! 
'Twas  but  a  moment — o'er  the  Rose 
A  veil  of  moss  the  Angel  throws; 
And  robed  in  Nature's  simplest  weed, 
Could  there  a  flower  that  Rose  exceed ! 

A  pyramid  of  climbing  roses  is  a  beautiful  object 
in  a  garden,  Iron  or  wooden  stakes,  twelve  feet  in 
height,  gradually  approaching  each  other,  till  they 
meet  at  the  top,  with  climbing  roses  trained  up 
their  sides,  is  a  pleasing  arid  easily  constructed 
ornament.  Fancy  and  taste  may  range  at  will  in 
inventing  forms  to  ornament  the  parterre  with  roses, 
Beds  of  roses,  raised  pyramidally,  have  a  splendid 
effect.  When  the  flowers  die  away  in  the  autumn, 
the  mass  may  be  clipped  again  into  form,  with  the 
garden  shears,  as  you  would  clip  a  laurel  hedge. 

Standard  roses,  which  are  so  much  in  fashion  at 
this  time,  and  which  always  remind  one  of  a  house 
maid's  long  broom  for  sweeping  cobwebs,  are  be 
yond  a  lady's  own  management,  as  budding  is  a 
troublesome  business,  and  very  frequently  fails.  I 
*vill  not,  therefore,  touch  upon  this  subject. 
7* 


74  ROSES. 

The  double  yellow  rose  is  very  elegant.  It  re 
quires  a  western  aspect,  and  even  prefers  north  am" 
east,  but  a  warm  aspect  injures  its  beauty.  It  loves 
a  good  substantial  soil,  and  will  not  bear  much  cut 
ting  or  removing.  Let  it  alone  in  its  glory,  onlj 
pruning  away  the  old  scraggy  wood  occasionally 
to  strengthen  the  plant. 

The  monthly  rose  is  also  a  lover  of  the  north  am 
east.  It  blooms  through  the  autumn  and  winter 
has  an  evergreen  leaf,  and  loves  a  strong  soil.  Ii 
must  be  propagated  by  cuttings,  and  parting  the 
roots,  as  it  never  throws  up  suckers.  Prune  away 
the  old  wood,  and  make  cuttings  in  June,  July,  am' 
August,  of.  the  branches  you  clear  away.  Plain 
the  cuttings  in  loose,  moist  earth,  and  do  not  lc' 
them  bud  till  the  following  year.  Let  the  cuttings 
be  sunk  two  joints  in  the  earth,  leaving  one  only 
exposed.  The  monthly  rose  climbs,  or  creeps. 

The  Austrian  briar,  or  rose,  will  not  flower  ii' 
exposed  to  the  south.  It  bears  a  rich  mass  of 
flowers,  yellow  outside,  and  deep  red  within.  Give 
it  an  eastern  or  western  aspect. 

The  perpetual,  or  "four-season"  rose,  requires  a 
rich  soil.  The  llower  buds  appearing  in  June  and 
July  should  be  pinched  off,  and  in  winter  the  plant 
may  be  pruned  as  closely  as  its  hardier  compan 
ions.  Place  the  four-season  rose  in  a  sheltered  sit 
uation  from  winds. 

Among  the  hardy  climbing  roses,  the  Ayrshire 
rose  is  the  most  useful.  Its  foliage  is  rich,  and  it 
covers  fences,  walls,  &c..  with  astonishing  rapidity. 
It  flowers  in  July.  Place  it  in  a  warm  situation, 
and  it  will  extend  thirty  feet  in  one  season. 

Lady  Banks'1  yellow  rose  is  a  pretty  climber,  and 
flowers  early  in  all  situations.  So  does  the  Rosa 
sempervirens. 


ROSES.  75 

Climbing  roses  will  grow  luxuriantly  under  the 
shade  of  trees,  and  form  a  mass  of  fragrant  under 
wood  in  shrubberies.  They  grow  with  surprising 
vigor,  if  allowed  to  remain  prostrate.  Plant  these 
thinly,  and  lay  in  the  most  vigorous  shoots,  by  peg 
ging  them  down  into  the  ground.  This  process  in 
creases  the  plants  rapidly,  and  gives  the  gayest 
possible  effect. 

The  Rosa  liybrida  multiflora  is  a  hardy  and  rap 
idly  growing  rose.  It  flowers  also  from  June  to 
September.  So  does  the  red  and  crimson  Bour- 
sault,  and  the  Rosa  Russeliana. 

Roses  are  subject  to  the  green  fly,  which  dis 
figures  their  bejauty,  particularly  the  white  roses. 
An  excellent  remedy  for  this  annoyance  is  effected 
by  moistening  the  plant,  and  then  dusting  it  over 
with  equal  portions  of  sulphur  and  tobacco  dust. 

Once,  on  a  solemn  festal  day, 

Held  by  the  immortals  in  the  skies, 
Flora  had  summon'd  all  the  deities, 
That  rule  o'er  gardens,  or  survey 
The  birth  of  greens  or  springing  flowers, 
And  thus  address'd  the  genial  powers. 

"Ye  shining  graces  of  my  conrtlv  train, 

The  cause  of  this  assembly  know: 

In  sovereign  majesty  I  reign 
O'er  the  gay  flowery  universe  below  ; 
Yet,  my  increasing  glory  to  maintain, 
A  queen  I'll  choose  with  spotless  honor  fair, 
The  delegated  crown  to  wear. 

Let  me  your  counsel  and  assistance  ask, 

T'  accomplish  this  momentous  task." 

The  deities,  that  stood  around, 
At  first  return'd  a  murm'ring  sound  ; 
Then  said,  "Fair  goddess,  do  you  know 
The  factious  feuds  this  must  create  ? 
What  jealous  rage,  and  mutual  hate, 


76 


ROSES. 


Among  the  rival  flower?  will  grow  1 
The  vilest  thistle  that  infests  the  plain, 

Will  think  his  tawdry  painted  pride 

Deserves  the  crown,  and,  il'denied. 
Perhaps  with  traitor  plots  molest  your  reign." 

"  Vain  are  your  fears,"  Flora  replied; 

-"  'Tis  fix'd,  and  hear  how  I'll  the  cause  decide. 

•"  Deep  in  a  venerable  wood. 

Where  oak.s,  with  vocal  skill  indued, 
Did  wotad'rous  oracles  of  old  impait, 
Beneath  a  little  hill's  inclining  side, 

A  grotto  's  seen,  where  Nature's  art 
Is  exercised  in  all  her  smiling  pride. 

"  Retired  in  this  sweet  grassy  cell, 

A  Lovely  wood-nymph  once  did  dwell: 
She  always  pleased;  for  more  than  mortal  fire 
Shone  in  her  eyes,  and  did  her  charms  inspire, 
A  dryad  bore  the 'illustrious  nymph,  a  sylvan  was  her  sire 

"  Chaste,  wise,  devout,  she  still  obey'd, 
'With  humble  zeal,  Heaven's  dread  commands, 

To  ev'ry  action  ask'd  our  aid, 

And  oft  before  our  altars  pray'd. 
Pure  was  her  heart,  and  undefined  her  hands. 

"  She  's  dead,  and  from  her  sweet  remains 

The  woud'rous  mixture  f  would  take, 
This  much  desired,  this  perfect  flower  to  make; 

Assist.  «uid  thus,  with  our  transforming  pains, 
We'll  diguify  the  garden  beds,  and  grace  our  fav'rite  plains.' 

Th'  applauding  deities  with  pleasure  heard, 

And  for  the, grateful  work  preuared. 

A  busy  face  Priapus  wore; 

Vertumnus  of  the  partv  too, 
From  various  sweets  th'  exhaling  spirits  drew; 
While  iu  full  canisters  Pomona  bore 

Of  richest  fruit  a  plenteous  store  j ! 
And  Vesta  promisee!  wond'rous  things  to  do. 

(iay  Venus  le.d  a  lively  train 
Of  Smiles  and  Graces;  the  plump  god  of  wine 
From  clusters  did  the  flowing  nectar  strain, 
,Aud  fill'd  large  goblets  with  his  juice  divine. 


ROSES.  77 

Thus  charged,  they  seek  the  honor'd  shade, 

Where  lived  and  died  the  spotless  maid, 
Ou  a  soft  couch  of  turf  the  body  lay : 
Th'  approaching  deities  passed  all  around, 

Prepared  the  sacred  rites  to  pay 

In  silence,  and  with  awe  profound. 
Flora  thrice  bovv'd,  and  thus  was  heard  to  pray: — 

"  Jove,  mighty  Jove,  whom  all  adore, 

Exert  thy  great  creating  power ! 
Let  this  fair  corpse  be  mortal  clay  no  more: 
Transform  it  to  a  tree,  to  bear  a  beauteous  flower." 

Scarce  had  the  goddess  spoke,  when,  see, 
The  nymph's  extended  limbs  the  form  of  branches  wear, 
Behold  the  vvond'rous  change,  the  fragrant  tree! 

To  leaves  was  turn'd  her  flowing  hair. 
And  rich  diffused  perfumes  regaled  the  wanton  air. 

Heaven!  what  new  charm,  what  sudden  light, 
Improves  the  grot,  and  entertains  the  sight! 
A  sprouting  bud  begins  the  tree  t'  adorn — 
The  large,  the  sweet  vermillion  flower  is  born! 
The  goddess  thrice  on  the  fair  infant  breathed, 

To  spread  it  into  life,  and  to  convey 
The  fragrant  soul,  and  every  grace  bequeathed, 
To  make  the  vegetable  princess  gay. 
Then  kiss'd  it  thrice;  the  general  silence  broke, 
And  thus  in  loud  rejoicing  accents  spoke: — 

"Ye  Flowers,  at  my  command,  attendant  here 
Pay  homage,  and  your  sovereign  ROSE  revere! 
j\o  sorrow  on  your  drooping  leaves  be  seen, 

Let  all  be  proud  ol'sucU  a  queen, 

Cjo  fit  the  floral  crown  to  wear, 
To  glorify  the  day,  and  grace  the  youthful  year!" 

Thus  speaking,  she  the  new-born  fav'rite  crowned  ; 

The  transformation  was  complete: 

The  deities  with  songs  the  queen  of  flowers  did  greet. 
Soft  flutes  and  tuneful  iiarps  were  heard  to  sound, 
While  now  to  heaven,  well  pleased,  the  goddess  flies 
With  her  bright  tram,  and  reasceuds  the  skies. 


78 


ROSES. 


The  following  list  of  roses  will  not  prove  beyond 
a  lady's  management,  being  hardy,  and  requiring 
only  pruning  every  January,  and  giving  them  a 
good  soil.  Prune  the  white  rose-tree  very  spar 
ingly,  as  they  do  not  love  the  knife. 


Roscs}  early  cinnamon 

Double  yellow 

Single  yellow 

Red  monthly 

White  monthly 

Double  white 

Moss  Provence 

Common  Provence 

Double  velvet 

Single  ditto 

Dutch  hundred-leaved 

Blush  ditto 

Blush  Belbic 

Red  ditto 

Marbled 

Large  royal 

York  and  Lancaster 

Red  damask 

Blush  ditto 

Austrian,  with  flowers  hav 
ing  one  side  red,  and  the 
other  yellow 


White  damask 

Austrian  yellow 

Double  musk 

Royal  virgin 

Rosa  mundi,  i.  e.  rose  of 

the  world,  or  striped  red 

rose 

Frankfort 
Cluster  blush 
Maiden  Blush 
Virgin   orthornless 
Common  red 
Burnet  leaved 
Scotch,  the  dwarf 
Striped  Scotch 
Apple-bearing 
Single  American 
Rose  of  Menx 
Pennsylvania!! 
Red  cluster 
Burgundy  rose 
Perpetual,  or  four-season 


HARDY  CLIMBING  ROSES. 


The  Ayrshire  rose 

Double  ditto 

Rose  hyhrida  multiflora 

Rose  Clair 

Rosa  Russeliana 

Reversa  elegans 


Rosa   sempervirens.  three 

sorts 

Rose  ruga 
Red  Boursault 
Crimson  ditto 
Lady  Banks'  yellow  rose 


JASMINES. 


Jasmines  grow  in  very  irregular  forms.  Per 
haps  their  luxuriant  wild  appearance  constitutes 
their  chief  grace.  The  jasmine  is  a  beautiful 


JASMINES.  79 

screen  in  summer,  wreathing  its  festoons  through 
trellis  work  ;  and  it  appears  to  me  that  Nature  pre 
sents  not,  in  our  colder  climes,  a  more  fragrant  and 
beautiful  bouquet  than  a  mixture  of  roses  and  jas 
mines. 

The  common  jasmine  is  hardy,  and  loves  a  good 
soil,  by  which  term  I  mean  kitchen  garden  soil. 
Trench  round  the  stem  occasionally  to  lighten  the 
earth,  and  it  will  grow  very  freely.  Put  litter 
round  the  jasmine  in  severe  frost ;  and  if  a  very 
rigorous  season  destroy  the  branches,  the  root  will 
be  saved,  and  its  shoots  in  the  spring  will  soon  re 
place  the  loss.  If  they  shoot  out  with  displeasing 
irregularity  and  confusion,  take  off  the  least  healthy 
looking  branches,  and  cut  away  those  which  grow 
rumpled,  for  they  only  consume  the  juices  of  the 
plant  to  no  purpose.  The  common  jasmine  is 
propagated  by  layers  and  slips. 

The  Arabian  jasmine  is  very  fragrant,  but  it  does 
not  endure  cold,  or  much  heat,  therefore  an  eastern 
aspect  suits  it  best.  If  the  Arabian  jasmine  is 
grown  in  a  large  pot  or  box,  it  could  be  placed 
under  cover  during  frost  in  the  winter  months ;  but 
do  not  place  it  in  a  greenhouse,  which  would  be  in; 
the  other  extreme  again. 

The  yellow  jasmine  may  be  treated  like  the  com 
mon  jasmine.  It  is  not  very  fragrant,,  but  it  forms 
an  elegant  variety. 

I  have  seen  very  fanciful  and  beautiful  devices 
invented  to  display  the  beauty  of  the  jasmine. 
Their  shoots  grow  so  rapidly  and  luxuriantly,  that 
if  the  plant  is  allowed  to  luxuriate,  it  will  soon 
cover  any  frame-work  with  its  drooping  beauty. 
The  jasmine  loves  to  hang  downwards  ;  and  I  have 
admired  inventive  little  arbors,  where  the  plant  has 


80  JASMINES. 

been  trained  up  behind  them,  and  the  branches 
allowed  to  fall  over  their  front  in  the  richest  profu 
sion,  curtained  back  like  the  entrance  of  a  tent. 
The  effect,  during  their  time  of  flowering,  was  re 
markably  elegant. 

When  you  prune  the  jasmine,  cut  the  branches, 
to  an  eye  or  bud,  just  by  the  place  from  which  the} 
sprout,  and  that  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  head, 
when  trimmed,  should  resemble  the  head  of  a  wil 
low.  This  method  makes  them  throw  out  abun 
dance  of  branches  and  fine  flowers. 

Give  fresh  soil  to  the  jasmine  every  two  years, 
or  they  will  gradually  become  weakened  in  thei: 
blooms.  The  secret  of  having  fine  flowers,  is  in 
keeping  up  the  soil  to  a  regular  degree  of  strength, 
as  the  human  frame  languishes  under  change  of 
diet,  and  becomes  weakened  for  want  of  food. 
Thus  it  is  with  animate  and  inanimate  nature. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ORNAMENTAL  SHRUBS  AND  EVERGREENS. 

I  SHALL  speak  now  of  the  ornamental  shrubs  Avhich 
decorate  a  flower  garden,  and  which  a  lady  may 
superintend  herself,  if  her  own  physical  powers  are 
not  equal  to  the  fatigue  of  planting.  A  laborer,  or 
a  stout  active  girl,  may  act  under  her  orders,  and 
do  all  that  is  necessary  to  be  done,  in  removing  or 
planting  flowering  shrubs  and  evergreens. 

In  planting  flowering  shrubs,  be  very  particular 
to  plant  them  at  such  distances  that  each  plant  may 
have  plenty  of  room  to  grow,  and  strike  out  their 
roots  and  branches  freely.  If  shrubs  are  crowded 
together,  they  become  stunted  in  growth,  and  lanky 
in  form. 

If  you  are  forming  a  clump,  or  even  a  planta 
tion,  let  each  shrub  be  planted  six  feet  apart  from 
its  neighbor  :  but  if  you  wish  to  plant  roses,  syrin- 
gas,  honeysuckles,  lilacs,  &c.  in  your  flower  bor 
ders,  they  should  be  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  dis 
tant  from  each  other,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the 
flowers  growing  below  them. 

Do  not  plant  tall  shrubs  promiscuously  among 

low-growing  ones.     Let  the  taller  shrubs  form  the 

back-grounds,  that  each  shrub  may  be  distinctly 

seen.     The  shrubs  should  be  trained  up  with  single 

stems,  and  they  should  be  pruned  every  year,  taking 

up  the  suckers,  and  removing  disorderly  branches. 

By  allowing  each  shrub  plenty  of  room,  it  will 

8 


82  EVERGREEN    SHRUBS. 

form  a  handsome  head,  and  throw  out  vigorous, 
shoots.  You  will  also  have  space  to  dig  betweei 
the  shrubs,  and  the  sun  and  air  can  benefit  them. 

Some  of  the  more  beautiful  evergreens  look  ex 
tremely  well,  dotted  about  the  grounds  singly  or  ii 
clumps,    but  be   very  particular  in  planting   your 
shrubs. 

For  instance,  when  you  wish  to  transplant  or 
plant  a  shrub,  dig  a  circular  hole  sufficiently  large 
to  receive  the  roots  of  the  plant,  which  must  be 
laid  neatly  down,  while  some  person  holds  the 
shrub  in  its  proper  position,  straight  and  upright 
Cut  away  any  dead  or  damaged  roots  ;  then  brcnl 
the  earth  well  with  your  spade,  and  throw  it  into 
the  hole,  shaking  the  plant  gently,  just  to  let  the 
earth  fall  close  in  among  the  roots.  When  it  is 
well  filled  up,  tread  the  earth  gently  round  the 
shrub  to  fix  it,  but  do  not  stamp  it,  as  I  have  seen 
people  do. 

But  if  you  can  take  up  shrubs  with  a  ball  o  ' 
earth  round  their  roots,  they  do  not  feel  the  opera 
tion,  and  their  leaves  do  not  droop.  Water  each 
shrub  after  planting ;  give  each  of  them  a  good 
soaking,  and  let  each  plant  have  a  stake  to  suppor; 
it  during  the  winter. 

October  is  the  autumn  month  for  transplanting 
shrubs,  and  February  and  March  are  the  spring 
months.  I  always  prefer  the  autumn  transplant 
ing,  as  the  rains  and  showers  are  so  fructifying. 
March  is  the  last  month  for  transplanting  ever 
greens. 

Laurustinus,  Phillyreas,  and  Laurel,  are  excel 
lent  shrubs  to  plant  near  buildings,  or  to  hide  a  wall. 
They  are  evergreen  summer  and  winter,  very 
hardy,  and  quick  growing. 


EVERGREEN  SHRUBS.  83 

The  Pyracantha  is  an  elegant  shrub,  with  its 
clusters  of  red  berries  ;  and  it  looks  gay  during  the 
autumn  and  winter. 

The  Arbutus,  or  strawberry-tree,  is  loaded  with 
its  strawberries  in  August,  September,  and  Octo 
ber.  This  is  a  beautiful  shrub,  placed  singly  on  a 
lawn,  kept  to  one  single  clean  stem,  and  a  fine 
branching  head. 

Portugal  laurels  are  beautiful :  their  deep  green 
leaves,  and  scented  feathery  flowers,  make  them  an 
important  shrub  in  all  gardens. 

It  has  been  ascertained  by  a  late  severe  winter, 
that  evergreens  are  extremely  hardy,  and  will  bear 
any  severity  of  frost.  All  those  evergreens  con 
sidered  most  tender,  such  as  Portugal  laurels,  rho 
dodendrons,  &c.,  were  observed  to  brave  the  frost 
unhurt,  which  were  placed  in  high,  unsheltered 
places,  or  facing  the  east  and  north.  It  was  ob 
served,  also,  that  those  evergreens  were  destroyed 
whose  aspect  was  south  and  west,  and  which  lay 
in  warm  and  sheltered  situations.  The  cause  was 
this.  The  shrubs  did  not  suffer  which  were  not 
subject  to  alterations  of  heat  and  cold ;  while 
those  which  lay  in  warm  situations,  being  thawed 
by  the  sun's  rays  during  the  day,  could  not  endure 
the  sudden  chill  of  returning  frost  at  night. 

Plant  your  evergreens,  therefore,  fearlessly  in 
exposed  situations  ;  and  care  only,  in  severe  win 
ters,  for  those  which  are  likely  to  be  thawed  and 
frozen  again  twice  in  twenty-four  hours. 

Rhododendrons  are  very  beautiful  shrubs,  and 
grow  into  trees,  if  the  soil  agrees  with  them. 
They  love  a  bog  soil. 

The  Camellia  japonica  is  considered  a  green 
house  plant,  but  it  becomes  hardy,  like  the  laurel, 


84  EVERGREEN    SHRUBS. 

if  care  is  taken  to  shelter  it  for  a  few  winters, 
when  it  gradually  adapts  itself  to  the  climate 
This  is  troublesome,  perhaps,  as  most  things  are,  to 
indolent  people  ;  but  the  trouble  is  well  repaid  by 
the  beautiful  flowers  of  the  japonicas,  its  dark 
leaves,  and  delicate  scent. 

The  gum  Cistus  is  a  handsome  evergreen,  an> 
looks  well  any  where  and   every  where.      Some 
straw  litter  spread  round  their  roots  in  winter  is  ;. 
great  protection. 

All  evergreens  of  a  hard-wooded  nature  are  pro 
pagated  rapidly  by  layers,  in  June  or  July.  This 
is  the  method : — dig  round  the  tree  or  shrub,  and 
bend  down 'the  pliable  branches  ;  lay  them  into  the 
earth,  and  secure  them  there  with  hooked  or  forked 
sticks.  Lay  down  all  the  young  shoots  on  each 
branch,  and  cover  them  over  with  earth  about  five. 
inches  deep,  leaving  the  tops  out  about  two,  three 
or  four  inches  above  ground,  according  to  their  dif 
ferent  lengths.  If  these  branches  are  laid  in  June 
or  July,  they  will  root  by  Michaelmas  ;  but  if  the}' 
are  laid  in  October,  they  will  be  a  twelve-month 
rooting. 

The  layers  of  Alaternuses  and  Phillyreas  will 
sometimes  be  two  years  rooting,  if  done  so  late  as 
October  ;  therefore  lay  down  your  shoots,  if  possi 
ble,  in  June.  Let  the  shoots  which  are  layered  be 
those  of  the  last  summer's  growth. 

You  may  propagate  shrubs  also  from  cuttings  in 
February  and  October.  Let  strong  shoots  be  cho 
sen,  of  last  summer's  growth :  choose  them  from 
nine  to  fifteen  inches  long,  and,  if  you  can,  take 
about  two  inches  of  old  wood  with  the  shoots  at 
their  base.  Trim  off  the  lower  leaves,  place  the 
cuttings  half  way  in  the  ground,  and  plant  them  in 


EVERGREEN*    SHRUBS. 


85 


a  shady  border  to  root.  Do  this  in  February,  in 
preference  to  October,  as  every  thing  roots  earlier 
from  spring  operations.  You  may  also  plant  cut 
tings  in  June,  but  keep  them  moist  and  shady. 

October  is  a  good  month  for  taking  up  suckers  of 
lilacs,  roses,  &c.,  and  for  all  sorts  of  transplanting 
in  its  varieties.  It  is  also  the  month  to  transplant 
the  layers  of  such  shrubs  as  were  laid  in  the  pre 
vious  October. 

I  subjoin  a  list  of  hardy  deciduous  shrubs  and 
evergreens,  not  too  tall  to  admit  into  a  moderately 
sized  flower  garden. 


DECIDUOUS    SHRUBS   OF    LESSER    GROWTH. 


Arbutus,  Strawberry-tree 

Common 

Double-flowering 

Red-flowering 

Eastern,  or  Andrachne 
Almond,  common 

White  flowering 

Early  dwarf,  single  flower 

Double-Dwarf 
Althaafrutex,  striped 

Red 

White 

Blue 

Purple 

Pheasant's  eye 
Andromeda,  striped 

Evergreen 
Azalea,  with  red  flowers 

White 
Berberry,  common,  red  fruit 

Stonetess,  red  fruit 

White  fruit 
Bladder-nut,  three-leaved 

Five-leaved 
Broom,  the  Spanish 

Double-flowering 


Yellow  Portugal 

White  Portugal 

Lucca 
Bramble,  double-flowering 

American  upright 

White-fruited 

Dwarf 

Thornless 
Chionanthus,  Fringe,  or  Snow 

drop  tree 

Candleberry     myrtle,     broad- 
leaved 

Long-leaved 

Fern-leaved 

Oak-leaved 
Cherry,  double-blossomed 

Cornelian 

Dwarf  Canada 
Currant,  with  gold  and  silver- 
blotched  leaved 

With  gooseberry  leaves 

Pennsylvanian 
Dogicood,  the  common 

Virginia 

Great-flowering 

Newfoundland 


80 


EVERGREEN    SHRUBS. 


E?rcpe£mw,black-berried  heath 
Guelder  Rose,  common 

Double,  or  snow-ball 

Carolina 

Gold-blotched  leaf 

Currant-leaved 
Hydrangea,  white-flowering 
Honeysuckle,  early  red  Italian 

Early  white  Dutch 

Late  Dutch 

Late  red 

Long-blowing 

Large  scarlet  trumpet 

Small  trumpet 

Oak-leaved 

Early  white  Italian 

Early  red  Italian 
Ivy,  deciduous,  or  Virginian 

creeper 
Jasmine,  the  common  white 

Common  yellow  Italian 

Gold-striped  leaved 

Silver-striped  leaved 
Lilac,  blue 

White 

Purple,  or  Scotch 

Persian,  with  cut  leaves 

Persian,  white-flowered 

Persian,  blue-flowered 
Lonicera,     upright     Honey 
suckle 

Red-berried 

Blue-berried 

Virginian 

Tartarian 
Mezereon  white 

Early  red 

Late  red 

Purple 
Mespilus,  spring-flowering 

Lady  Hardwick's  shrub 
Peach,  double-flowering 
Privet,  common 


Silver-striped 

Yellow-blotched  leaves 
Ptelea,    or  American   Shrub 

Trefoil 
Pemcgranate,  single-flowerii  g 

Double 
Robinia,  or  false  Acacia 

Common 

Yellow  flowered 

Scarlet-flowered,    or    rose 
acacia 

Caragana 
Rhamnus,  or  Buckthorn 

Common 

Sea  buckthorn 

Yellow-berried 

Creeping  evergreen 
Raspberry,  double-flowering 

Virginian  sweet-flowering 
Rose,  in  every  variety 
Spiraiafrutez,  common  red 

Scarlet 

White 
Sumach,  scarlet 

Large  downy 

White 

Virginia 

Elm  leaved 

Myrtle-leaved 

Carolina 
Syringa,  common 

Dwarf  double-flowering 
Scorpion  Senna 
Srnilax,  broad-leaved 

Blotched-leaved 
Tulip  Tree 
Tamarisk,  the  French 

German 
Viburnum,  or  Wayfarer 

Common 

Stripe-leaved 

American  broad-leaved 

Maple-leaved 


EVERGREEN    SHRUBS 


87 


EVERGREENS. 


Alaternus,  common 

Blotched-leaved 

Jagged-leaved,  plain 

Ditto,  striped 

Silver-striped 

Cold-striped 
Cistus,  or  Rock  Rose 

Gum  Cistus,  with  spotted 
flowers 

With  plain  white  flowers 

Purple  sage-leaved 

Male  Portugal 

Bay-leaved  gum 

With  hairy  willow  leaves 

Black  poplar-leaved 

Waved-leaved 

Purple,  or  true  Gum  Cistus 
of  Crete,  with  other  va 
rieties 
Cytisus,  Neapolitan 

Canary 

Siberian  and  Tartarian 
Laurustinus,  common 

Broad,  or  shining-leaved 

Rough  leaved 

Oval-leaved 
Bay,  broad-leaved 

Narrow-leaved 
Phillyrea.  the  true 

Broad-leaved 

Privet-leaved 

Prickly-leaved 

Olive-leaved 

Gold-edged 

Silver-edged 

Rosemary-edged 
Juniper,  common 

Swedish 

Sclavonian 

Canada 

Jasmine,  evergreen 
Pyracantha 
Ivy,  common 


Striped-leaved 

Virginian 

Irish,  or  quick-growing 
Honeysuckle,  evergreen 
Rose,  the  evergreen 
Rhododendron,     dwarf    Rose 

Bay 
Katmia,  olive-leaved 

Broad-leaved 

Thyme-leaved 
Coronilla,  narrow-leaved 

Broad-leaved 
Magnolia,  laurel-leaved 

Lesser  bay-leaved 
Arbor  Vitce,  common 

China 

American 
Cypress,  common  upright 

Male  Spreading 
Bignonia,  the  evergreen 
Widow  Wail 
Locust  of  Montpelier 
Medicago,  Moon  Trefoil 
Stonecrop  Shrub 
Ragwort,  the  sea 
Hotly,  common 

Carolina  broad-leaved 

Yellow-berried 

Many  varieties 
Laurels,  common 

Portugal 

Alexandrian 
Oak,  Ilex,  or  evergreen 

Kermes,  or  scarlet-bearing 

Gramuntian,  holly-leaved 

Carolina  live 

Germander,  shrubby,  of  Crete 
Euonymus, evergreen  Virginia 
Virginia  Groundsel  tree 
Wormwood,  lavender  leaved 
Spurge,  or  wood  laurel 
Kneeholm,  or  Butcher's  broom 
Horse-tail,  shrubby 


88  EVERGREEN    SHRUBS. 

In  pruning  shrubs,  be  careful  to  cut  out  the  lon«j 
rambling  shoots  of  the  last  summer's  growth,  which 
disfigure  their  appearance.  Cut  away,  also, 
branches  of  shrubs  which  interlace  each  other,  that 
every  shrub  may  stand  clear  and  well-defined. 
Take  away  their  suckers,  and  let  each  shrub  be 
kept  to  a  single  stem,  as  I  have  before  observed. 


89 
CHAPTER  VII. 

MONTHLY    NOTICES. 

A  RECAPITULATION  of  the  work  which  each  month 
presents  to  the  gardener's  notice,  will  be  useful. 
By  occasionally  glancing  over  the  Monthly  Notices, 
the  memory  is  refreshed ;  and  it  will  be  found  that 
even  the  three  winter  months  allow  the  young  gar 
dener  no  remission  from  labor.  There  is  some 
thing  to  be  done  in  every  week  of  the  year, — some 
thing  to  be  attended  to,  which  amuses  the  mind, 
interests  the  imagination,  and  benefits  the  general 
tone  of  mental  and  physical  health. 


Let  your  lawn  and  grass  walks  be  kept  neat  and  smooth, 
by  rolling,  this  raon'  h ;  and  if  any  part  of  the  grounds  require 
fresh  turf,  this  is  the  season  for  cutting  and  laying  it  down. 
If  you  live  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  common,  that  is  the  best 
ground  for  cutting  turf,  as  the  herbage  is  short,  and  free  from 
nettles,  docks,  &c.  Lay  it  down  firm  and  even,  allowing 
for  the  sinking  of  the  newly  laid  earth,  about  an  inch  or  two. 
Roll  it  well,  after  having  laid  down  the  turf. 

Keep  the  gravel  walks  also  from  weeds  and  moss,  and  roll 
them  in  dry  weather.  If  you  attempt  to  roll  gravel  in  wet 
weather,  the  gravel  clings  to  the  roller. 

Dig  the  clumps  or  spots  where  you  mean  to  plant  ever 
greens,  in  February  and  March,  that  the  ground  may  be 
trenched  in  readiness.  The  frost  of  this  month  will  render 
newly-dug  earth  more  friable,  and  the  snow  will  enrich  it. 

If  the  weather  is  very  settled  and  mild,  you  may  still  plant 
out  hardy  deciduous  shrubs,  such  as  sweelbriars,  double 
bramble,  donble-blossomed  cherry,  dwarf  almond,  jasmines, 
honeysuckles,  roses,  lilacs,  laburnums,  guelder  rose,  Spiraea 
frutex,  mezereons,  &c.  Transplant  each  shrub  with  a  good 
ball  of  earth  round  its  roots. 


90  MONTHLY    NOTICES. 

Prune  flowering  shrubs  now,  where  they  require  it,  \v  th 
a  sharp  knife,  not  with  shears.  When  I  say  "floweri  ig 
shrubs,"  I  do  not  mean  shrubs  in  flower,  but  shrubs  that  do 
flower. 

Transplant  suckers  from  the  hardy  flowering  shrubs,  if 
they  have  not  been  done  before.  Take  them  up  with  go  )d 
roots  and  support  them  neatly  with  stakes. 

Cuttings  of  young  shoots  of  hardy  deciduous  shrubs  m  ly 
be  planted  in  mild  weather,  to  root,  and  form  good  plants  in 
the  autumn.  Layers  may  be  also  formed. 

Protect  all  the  choicer  kinds  of  flowering  shrubs,  and  ill 
cuttings  of  every  kind,  from  severe  frosts,  by  spreading  litler 
over  them. 

Plant  tulips  now — always  providing  the  weather  is  mild  — 
to  blow  late  in  the  year;  but  they  will  not  be  so  handsome  as 
those  which  were  planted  again  in  September  and  October. 

Plant  any  ranunculuses,  anemones,  &c.,  you  may  ha/e 
out  of  the  ground,  to  come  in  late  blowing;  but,  like  tie 
tulips,  they  will  not  bear  such  fine  blooms.  Protect  every 
thing  from  severe  weather,  as  well  as  you  can,  this  mon'h, 
particularly  your  choicer  sorts  of  bulbs,  and  tuberous-root  ;d 
perennials. 

FEBRUARY. 

February  is  the  first  spring  month,  and  the  parterre  \\\\\ 
begin  to  make  gradual  approaches  to  gaiety  and  life.  T.ie 
anemones,  hepaticas,  &,c.,  will  now  bud  and  flower,  if  the 
weather  is  genial;  and  the  crocus  and  snowdrop  will  nut 
forth  their  blooms  to  meet  the  sun  on  his  returning  march'. 

About  the  end  of  this  month,  you  may  begin  to  sow  the 
hardy  annuals.  I  prefer  April,  but  it  may  not  be  convenient 
always  to  wait  so  long:  therefore  sow  now  the  seeds  of 
hawkweed,  lavatera,  Venus's  looking-glass,  Venus's  navel- 
wort,  candy-tuft,  larkspurs,  lupines,  convolvulus,  flos  Adonis, 
dwarf  lychnis,  nigella,  annual  sunflowers,  &c. 

This  month  you  may  plant  and  transplant,  fearlessly,  ;ill 
hardy,  fibrous-rooted,  "flowering  perennials  and  biennials, 
such  as  saxifrage,  gentianella,  hepaticas,  violets,  primroses  of 
all  sorts,  polyanthuses,  double  daisies,  thrift,  &-c.;  rose  cam 
pions,  rockets,  campanulas,  sweet-williams,  hollyhocks,  scar 
let  lychnis,  carnations,  pinks,  monk's-hood,  perennial  asters 
and  sunflowers,  &c. 

Plant  cuttings  of  roses,  honeysuckles,  and  jasmines. 

If  the  weather  is  mild,  you  may  transplant  many  kinds  of 


MONTHLY    NOTICES.  91 

evergreen  shrubs,  such  as  phillyreas,  alaternnses,  laurels, 
laurustinus,  pyracanthas,  cistuses,  &c.  Let  there  be  a  ball 
of  earth  round  their  roots,  when  you  take  them  out  of  the 
ground. 

If  box  edging  is  required,  plant  it  now  :  water  it,  and  the 
plants  will  soon  root. 

Dig  the  borders  carefully  and  lightly,  with  your  garden 
fork;  make  the  garden  look  neat,  and  free  from  weeds; 
clear  away  dead  leaves ;  sweep  the  lawn  and  walks  •,  and  let 
spring  advance  in  its  proper  order. 


Now  plant  away.  Evergreens  cannot  be  moved  at  a  bet 
ter  period.  Deciduous  flowering  shrubs  may  also  be  still 
planted,  such  as  Altha?a  frutex,  syringa^,  roses,  honeysuckles, 
mezereons,  sumach,  laburnums,  lilacs,  jasmines,  candleberry, 
myrtles,  guelder  roses,  &c. 

Where  the  borders  require  filling  np,  the  following  plants 
may  still  be  moved,  but  do  it  early  in  this  month : — 

Lychnises,  campanulas,  Canterbury  bells,  tree  primroses, 
rockets,  sweet-williams,  wallflowers,  columbines,  monk's- 
hood,  rose  campions,  perennial  asters  and  sunflowers,  fox 
gloves.  &c. 

Sow  perennial  and  biennial  flower  seeds  about  the  last 
week  in  this  mouth.  Stake  your  hyacinths,  when  the  flower 
stems  are  tall. 

Plant  out  layered  carnations  of  last  year,  into  the  places 
where  they  ought  to  remain. 

Give  fresh  earth  to  any  plants  in  pots,  such  as  carnations, 
pinks,  auriculas,  double  sweet-williams,  double  stock  gillr- 
flowers,  rockets,  &c. 

Sow  annuals  of  all  hardy  kinds. 

Transplant  any  hardy  roses,  which  you  may  wish  should 
blow  late  in  the  year. 

Plant  box,  for  edgings,  still ;  and  roll  the  lawn  and  grass 
walks. 

Transplant  any  tenderer  kinds  of  annuals  which  you  may 
have  been  at  the  pains  of  raising  in,  or  procuring  from,  a  hot 
bed. 

Keep  the  garden  quite  free  from  weeds  and  dead  leaves. 

APRIL. 

Now  place  sticks  to  every  plant  or  stalk  requiring  support. 
Fix  the  sticks,  or  light  iron  rods,  firmly  in  the  ground;  and 
tie  the  stems  to  each  stick  neatly,  in  two  or  three  places. 


92  MONTHLY    NOTICES. 

Some  evergreens  may  yet  be  removed,  as  laurels,  lauructi- 
nus,  Portugal  laurel,  cistuses,  arbutus,  magnolias,  pyracz.n- 
thas,  &c. 

Propagate  auriculas,  by  slipping  off  their  suckers  and  cff- 
sets,  this  month. 

Sow  carnation  and  polyanthus  seeds  still.  Sow,  also,  pe 
rennial  and  biennial  seeds. 

Where  any  perennial  or  biennial  fibrous-rooted  flowers 
are  wanted,  transplant  them  only  in  the  first  week  of  Mis 
month,  and  they  must  have  each  a  good  ball  of  earth  attached 
to  them ;  but  this  work  should  be  completed  in  February,  or 
March  at  farthest. 

Every  sort  of  annual  may  now  be  sown. 

Take  care  of  your  hyacinths,  tulips,  ranunculuses,  and 
anemones  now,  for  they  will  be  hastening  into  bloom. 

Place  your  auriculas,  hyacinths,  &c.,  which  may  be  in  pi  ts, 
in  a  sheltered  place,  during  heavy  rains  or  winds;  and  shel 
ter  those  flowers  which  are  in  the  borders  as  well  as  you  can. 
Trim  them  from  dead  leaves. 

Keep  your  lawn  and  grass  walks  nicely  mown  and  rollod, 
and  your  borders  free  from  weeds  and  rubbish. 


Propagate  perennial  fibrous-rooted  plants  by  cuttings. 

Propagate  double  wall-flowers  by  slips  of  the  young 
shoots  of  the  heads. 

Sow  annuals  for  succession;  such  as  sweet-peas,  nastur 
tiums,  lavatera,  lupines,  flos  Adonis,  &c. 

Take  up  those  hyacinths,  tulips,  <fec.,  which  have  done 
flowering,  and  dry  them  in  the  shade  to  put  away. 

Weeds  grow  quickly  now:  hoe  them  up  wherever  you 
see  them.  Support  all  flowers  with  sticks;  train  then/up 
right.  Clear  away  all  the  dead  leaves  from  your  carnations, 
and  gently  stir  the  earth  round  them  with  your  smallest 
trowel. 

Look  round  the  borders  now,  and  take  off  irregular  shoots. 


Propagate  carnations  by  layers  and  pipings.  Propagate 
double  sweet-williams  and  pinks  by  layers  and  cuttings  or 
slips. 

Propagate  perennial  fibrous-rooted  plants  by  cuttings  of 
the  stalks. 


MONTHLY    NOTICES.  93 

Transplant  the  large  annuals  from  the  seedling  bed  to 
places  where  they  are  to  remain.  Let  this  be  done  in 
showery  weather,  if  possible. 

Take  up  all  bulbs,  ranunculus,  and  anemone  roots,  &c., 
as  the  flowers  and  leaves  decay. 

Water  the  delicate  plants  if  the  weather  proves  dry :  give 
a  moderate  watering  every  evening;  but  never  in  the  heat 
of  the  day. 

Sow  yet  some  hardy  annuals,  such  as  ten-week  stocks, 
virgin  stock,  &c. 

Plant  out  China-asters,  Chinese  hollyhocks,  ten-week 
stocks,  large  convolvulus,  &c.,  but  let  each  root  have  a  ball 
of  earth  round  it. 

Examine  the  perennial  and  biennial  plants,  to  cut  off  all 
dead,  broken,  or  decaying  shoots.  Trim  the  African  and 
French  marigolds  from  their  lower  straggling  shoots,  that 
they  may  present  a  neat  upright  appearance.  Trim  the 
chrysanthemums,  which  are  apt  to  branch  too  near  the  root, 
and  stake  them  neatly. 

Plant  out  carnations  and  pink  seedlings  into  their  proper 
places. 

Keep  every  thing  just  moderately  moist,  if  there  is  a  long 
drought  in  this  month. 


You  may  lay  carnations  and  double  sweet-williams  still; 
but  let  it  be  done  before  the  end  of  the  second  week  in  this 
month. 

Propagate  pinks  by  slips  and  pipings. 

Transplant  the  seedling  auriculas  which  were  sown  last 
year,  as  also  the  seedling  polyanthus. 

Transplant  the  perennial  and  biennial  seedlings  which 
were  not  done  last  month,  to  remain  till  October. 

Take  up  all  bulbs  as  fast  as  they  decay  their  leaves.  If  this 
month  prove  hot  and  dry,  place  your  potted  carnations  in  a 
sheltered  situation,  and  keep  them  just  moist. 

Support  flowering  shrubs  and  plants,  and  cut  away  de 
cayed  stems.  Keep  the  borders  clean.  M  ow  the  lawn  and 
grass  walks.  Plant  autumnal  bulbs. 

AUGUST. 

You  may  now  begin  to  propagate  some  double-flowered 
and  approved  fibrous-rooted  plants  the  end  of  the  month,  if 
they  have  done  flowering ;  such,  for  instance,  as  the  double 
9 


94  MONTHLY    NOTICES. 

rose  campion,  catchfly,  double  scarlet  lychnis,  double  rocke  , 
double  ragged  robin,  bachelor's  buttons,  gentianella,  polyai  - 
thnses,  auriculas,  &c. 

Sow  auricula  and  polyanthus  seed  on  a  warm,  dry  day  ; 
and  remove  carnation  layers  to  some  place  where  they  ma/ 
remain  till  October  to  gain  strength. 

Sow  seeds  of  bulbs. 

Sow  anemone  and  ranunculus  seed. 

Remove  all  bulbs  which  have  done  flowering. 

Cut  and  trim  edgings  of  box.  Clip  holly,  yew,  and  pr  - 
vet  hedges. 

Gather  flower  seeds. 

Plant  autumnal  bulbs,  if  any  are  still  above  ground,  sue  i 
as  colchicums,  autumnal  narcissus,  amaryllis,  and  autum  i 
crocus. 

Trim  the  flower  plants ;  mow  the  lawn  and  grass  walks, 
and  keep  every  department  in  neat  order. 

SEPTEMBER. 

Transplant,  in  any  moist  or  showery  weather  this  month, 
the  perennial  and  biennial  seedlings  to  their  proper  situa 
tion?,  with  a  ball  of  earth  round  their  roots. 

Propagate  fibrous-rooted  plants. 

Prepare  the  spots  where  you  mean  to  deposite  anemone 
and  ranunculus  roots  any  time  between  the  end  of  this 
month  and  the  end  of  October ;  and  dig  all  beds  and  borders 
which  are  vacant,  to  prepare  them  also  for  receiving  roots 
and  plants  next  month. 

Transplant  peonies,  flag  irises,  monk's-hood,  fraxinelhi, 
and  such  like  plants,  to  part  their  roots  and  remove  eacli 
root  to  its  destined  position. 

Transplant  evergreens. 

Plant  cuttings  of  honeysuckles,  and  other  shrubs. 

Plant  hyacinth  and  tulip  roots  for  early  spring  bloom. 

Plant  box  by  slips  or  roots. 

Mow  grass  lawn  and  walks.  Clear  away  flower  stems, 
and  trim  flowering  plants. 

Sow  seeds  of  bulbous  flowers,  if  not  done  last  month. 


This  is  a  very  busy  month;  for  the  garden  should  now  by 
cleared  and  arranged  for  the  season. 

Transplant  all  sorts  of  fibrous-rooted  perennial  and  bien 
nial  plants  now  where  they  are  intended  to  remain. 


MONTHLY    NOTICES.  95 

Put  the  bulbs  into  the  ground  again;  and  transplant  the 
different  layered  plants  into  their  respective  places. 

Prune  flowering  shrubs  of  all  sorts.  Plant  and  transplant 
all  hardy  deciduous  shrubs,  and  their  suckers. 

Dig  up  and  part  the  roots  of  all  flowers  which  require  so 
doing,  and  replant  them. 

Plant  cuttings  of  honeysuckles,  laurels,  &c. 

Take  up  the  roots  of  dahlias,  and  put  them  carefully  away 
till  May. 

Trim  evergreens. 

Plant  box  edgings ;  cut  away  the  long,  sticky  roots,  and 
trim  the  tops  even. 

Mow  grass  walks  and  lawns,  and  weed  gravel  walks. 

NOVEMBER. 

Prepare  compost  for  a  new  year,  by  raking  dead  leaves, 
soil,  sand,  &c.  in  a  heap,  to  turn  well  over  occasionally. 
Pour  the  brine,  soap-suds,  &c.  from  the  house  over  it. 

Transplant  still  all  hardy  kinds  of  flowering  shrubs, 
suckers,  &c. 

Clear  the  borders  from  dead  annuals,  leaves,  stumps,  &c.; 
shelter  the  choice  bulbs  and  double-flowering  plants, 

DECEMBER. 

Take  care  of  every  thing.  Protect  the  more  delicate 
roots  from  severe  frost,  by  strewing  ashes,  sand,  or  litter 
over  them.  Prune  shrubs,  and  dig  between  them. 

If  the  weather  is  open,  you  may  still  plant  hardy  sorts  of 
flowering  shrubs. 


96 
CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    VEGETABLE    GARDEN. 
CALENDAR    FOR    THE    SOUTHERN    STATK3. 

JANUARY. — Sow  peas,  spinach,  lettuce,  cabbages , 
radishes,  parsley,  beets,  carrots,  salsafy,  parsnips, 
turnips,  asparagus.  Plant  horse  radish,  Irish  po 
tatoes.  Transplant  cabbages  and  lettuce. 

Remarks. — The  best  variety  of  peas  for  this 
month  are  early  frame  and  bishops,  for  an  early 
crop,  and  dwarf  marrowfat  and  dwarf  green  impe 
rial  for  a  succession.  Only  a  few  beets,  carrots, 
parsnips,  salsafy,  and  turnips,  should  be  sown  this 
month,  as  they  are  all  very  tender  while  young,  and 
consequently  easily  killed.  Endive  should  be  tied 
up  for  bleaching.  It  is  late  to  dress  artichokes  and 
asparagus  beds,  but  if  not  done  before,  they  must 
now  be  attended  to.  Irish  potatoes  planted  in  the 
commencement  of  this  month,  may  have  their  tops 
killed  by  frost  in  February,  but  will  not  be  injured  ; 
towards  the  last  of  the  month  they  may  be  planted 
for  a  general  crop. 

FEBRUARY. — Sow  peas,  spinach,  lettuce,  cab 
bages,  radishes,  corn,  beets,  carrots,  salsafy,  pars 
nips,  turnips,  thyme,  sage,  and  other  herbs.  Plant 
Irish  potatoes.  Transplant  cabbages  and  lettuce. 

Remarks. — The  same  varieties  of  peas  may  be 
sown  in  this  month  as  were  directed  for  the  last. 
The  principal  crop  of  beets  and  carrots  should  now 
be  sown.  The  common  varieties  of  spinach  should 


THE    VEGETABLE    GARDEN.  97 

be  sown  in  small  quantities  once  in  ten  days,  as  it 
soon  runs  to  seed. 

MARCH. —  Sow  carrots,  beets,  Swiss  chard,  pars 
nips,  salsafy,  cabbages,  spinach,  turnips,  leeks, 
tomatoes,  peppers,  radishes,  lettuce,  Guinea  squash. 
Plant  cucumbers,  okra,  squashes,  melons,  snap 
beans,  cushaws,  sewee  beans,  New  Zealand  spi 
nach.  Transplant  tomatoes,  peppers,  Guinea 
squash,  cabbages,  and  lettuce. 

Remarks. — All  the  above  vegetables  should  be 
got  in  at  as  early  a  period  as  possible.  Carrots 
should  now  be  sown  for  a  full  crop,  and  from  Eng 
lish  seed.  Lettuce  should  remain  where  it  is 
sown.  New  Zealand  spinach  should  be  sown  in 
hills,  three  feet  apart  each  way.  Radishes  should 
be  sown  every  three  weeks.  All  Irish  potatoes 
should  be  planted  this  month.  If  the  season  be 
mild,  most  of  the  vegetables  mentioned  in  March 
may  be  sown  towards  the  last  of  the  month. 

APRIL. — Sow  carrots,  beets,  salsafy,  turnips, 
cabbages,  cauliflowers,  brocoli,  tomatoes,  peppers, 
radishes,  lettuce,  celery,  leeks.  Plant  okra,  snap 
beans,  squashes,  sewee  beans,  cucumbers,  cushaws, 
melons.  Transplant  cabbages,  tomatoes,  peppers, 
Guinea  squashes.  Prick  out  celery. 

Remarks. — The  sowing  of  the  main  crop  of  car 
rots  for  summer  and  autumn,  ought  not  to  be  delay 
ed  longer  than  this  month,  as  they  will  be  easily 
killed  when  up.  The  seed  should  be  from  Europe, 
or  they  will  run  to  seed  in  the  fall.  Cucumbers, 
squashes,  and  melons,  do  not  succeed  well  if  de 
layed  until  now,  but  a  few  may  be  sown.  The 
same  remark  applies  to  beets,  salsafy,  parsnips, 
and  turnips. 

MAY. — Sow    cabbages,    savoys,    carrots,   beets, 


98  THE    VEGETABLE    GARDEN. 

turnips,  cauliflowers,  brocoli,  celery,  radishes. 
Plant  snap  beans.  Transplant  cabbages.  Prick 
out  celery. 

Remarks. — There  is  not  much  probability  of 
either  beets,  parsnips,  carrots,  or  turnips,  succeed 
ing  at  this  season,  especially  the  last ;  yet  if  want 
ed,  a  few  may  be  ventured  ;  under  very  favorable 
circumstances,  they  may  succeed.  If  carrots  l.e 
sown,  the  ground  should  be  shaded  and  kept  moist, 
and  this  continued  to  the  plants  sometime  after  they 
are  up,  or  they  will  be  killed  by  the  hot  sun. 

JUNE. — Sow  cauliflowers,  brocoli,  cabbages,  ca  •- 
rots,  tomaJoes.  Plant  snap  beans,  orka.  Trans 
plant  celery,  cabbages,  leeks.  Prick  out  cauli 
flowers,  brocoli,  and  celery. 

Remarks. — This  month  is  generally  very  dry  and 
hot,  and  all  the  crops  recommended  to  be  sown 
now,  must  be  protected  from  the  sun  :  most  of 
them  should  have  been  sown  in  April,  and  it  is 
only  in  case  of  failure  or  omission,  that  they  should 
now  be  sown  ;  the  month  may  be  considered  bad 
for  the  sowing  of  seeds  generally. 

JULY. — Sow  early  Dutch  turnips,  ruta  baga,  car 
rots  parsnips,  cabbages,  cauliflowers,  brocoli,  en 
dive,  radishes,  spinach.  Plant  snap  beans,  Irish 
potatoes,  melons.  Transplant  cabbages,  celery, 
cauliflowers,  brocoli,  tomatoes,  and  leeks. 

Remarks. — A  few  only  of  carrots,  parsnips,  spi 
nach,  or  radishes,  should  be  sown,  as  it  is  not  very 
probable  that  they  will  succeed,  unless  well  pro 
tected  from  the  sun  for  some  length  of  time,  while 
young.  The  early  Dutch  turnips  should  also  be 
sown  towards  the  middle  and  last  of  the  month,  in 
small  quantities.  The  Irish  potatoe  will  be  fit  for 
use  in  October,  and  the  tomatoes  will  furnish  a  sup- 


THE    VEGETABLE    GARDEN.  99 

ply  when  the  spring-sown  crop  has  ceased  to  bear, 
and  then  continue  till  killed  by  a  frost. 

AUGUST. — Sow  peas,  early  Dutch  and  other  vari 
eties  of  turnips,  rnta  baga,  onions,  cabbages,  cauli 
flowers,  brocoli,  black  Spanish  radishes,  carrots, 
beets,  parsnips,  salsafy,  lettuce,  and  endives. 
Plant  snap  beans.  Transplant  cabbages,  cauli 
flowers,  brocoli,  celery,  ruta  baga,  and  endive. 

Remarks. — Not  much  can  be  expected  from  peas 
sown  this  month,  as  they  will  be  much  crippled  by 
the  high  winds  and  rain  which  we  usually  have  ; 
but  if  much  wanted,  a  few  may  be  ventured.  The 
beets  and  spinach  are  liable  to  the  attacks  of  the 
worms,  which  destroy  their  leaves :  should  they 
escape  these,  they  will  be  very  fine. 

SEPTEMBER. — Sow  early  Dutch  and  other  varie 
ties  of  turnips,  ruta  baga,  beets,  Swiss  chard,  man 
gle  wurzle,  carrots,  parsnips,  salsafy,  lettuce,  spi 
nach,  cabbages,  (English  seed,)  onions,  radishes, 
endive.  Plant  snap  beans.  Transplant  ruta  baga, 
cabbages,  cauliflowers,  brocoli,  celery,  lettuce, 
leeks,  endive. 

Remarks. — In  this  month  the  principal  crops  of 
turnips,  beets,  carrots  parsnips,  &c.  should  be 
sown,  as  they  will  acquire  sufficient  strength  to 
withstand  the  cold  weather  before  the  winter  sets 
in.  When  thinning  out  the  ruta  baga,  the  plants 
should  be  reserved  and  transplanted  out  either  into 
those  spaces  where  they  have  failed,  or  into  a 
piece  prepared  expressly  for  them,  If  the  cabbage 
seed  are  not  English,  they  will  run  to  seed  in  the 
spring  without  heading. 

OCTOBER. — Sow  cabbages,  lettuce,  carrots,  beets, 
turnips,  radishes,  spinach,  salsafy,  parsnips,  ruta 


100         THE  VEGETABLE  GARDEN. 

baga.     Transplant  cabbages,  cauliflowers,  brocoli, 
onions,  lettuce,  leeks,  and  endive. 

Remarks. — If  any  of  the  crops  recommended 
above  have  not  been  sown,  they  should  not  be  neg- 
ected  longer  ;  most  of  them  may  be  sown  with 
considerable  advantage.  The  artichokes  should  iu 
this  month  be  attended  to,  the  suckers  removed, 
and  manure  given.  Strawberries  should  be  set 
out  this  month ;  they  will  bear  in  the  ensuing 
spring. 

NOVEMBER. — Sow  peas,  cabbages,  radishes,  car 
rots,  spinach,  turnips,  parsnips,  lettuce,  beets,  sal- 
safy.  Plant  mazagon  and  Windsor  beans.  Trans 
plant  cabbages,  lettuce,  onions,  and  leeks. 

Remarks. — The  first  crop  of  peas  may  be  sown 
about  the  commencement  of  this  month,  and  ;i 
general  crop  towards  the  last,  though  it  is  better  to 
defer  this  until  the  next  month.  The  dwarf  mar 
rowfat  and  dwarf  green  imperial  are  the  best  varie 
ties  for  sowing.  The  asparagus  beds  should  now 
be  dressed,  and  a  good  supply  of  manure  given. 

DECEMBER. — Sow  peas,  spinach,  radishes,  car 
rots,  salsafy,  lettuce,  cabbages,  beets,  parsnips 
Plant  Irish  potatoes,  mazagon  and  Windsor  beans 
Transplant  cabbages,  lettuce,  and  onions. 

Remarks. — Any  of  the  variety  of  peas  may  be 
sown  in  this  month.  The  Irish  potatoes  will  come 
up  so  early  as  to  have  their  tops  destroyed  by  frost, 
but  will  not  be  injured  materially,  if  at  all,  by  this. 
All  seeds  sown  during  this  month,  except  spinach, 
peas,  and  beans,  must  be  protected  in  cold  weather. 


101 


CHAPTER  IX. 

VEGETABLE    AND     FLOWER    GARDEN. 

CALENDAR    FOR    THE    NORTHERN    STATES. 

From  the  Lady's  Annual  Register. 

JANUARY. — The  New  Year  has  come.  The 
old  one,  with  its  joys,  its  sorrows,  its  labors,  its 
repose,  its  temptations,  its  conquests,  its  light  or 
dark  hours,  is  gone.  The  preparations  for  New 
Year  are  over — the  Gifts  are  all  arranged — nothing 
remains  but  the  joyful  distribution  of  them.  Much 
is  to  be  regretted  in  the  past  year.  For  the  future, 
there  should  be  nothing  but  hope  and  good  resolu 
tion.  This  year  is  at  least  now  unstained  by  sin ; 
strive  that  it  may  long  continue  so  ;  think  not  of 
the  past,  except  as  a  warning  and  encouragement 
for  the  future,  trust  humbly  in  a  good  Providence, 
and  keep  boldly  on.  If  you  have  parted  with 
friemls  during  the  past  year,  resolve  to  bestow 
more  kindness  and  love  on  those  that  remain.  If 
God  has  blest  you  with  wealth,  dispense  it  to  the 
needy,  with  a  more  liberal  hand.  If  your  means 
have  been  lessened,  take  to  yourself  a  double  por 
tion  of  content,  and  show  your  ingenuity  in  making 
a  little  answer.  Whatever  you  do,  do  well  and 
cheerfully. 

FEBRUARY. —  Still  winter  reigns.  February  has 
not  the  charm  and  excitement  of  January,  the  New 
Year's  holidays,  presents,  &c.,  to  reconcile  us  to  it. 


102     VEGETABLE  AND  FLOWER  GARDEN. 

It  has  only  cold  weather,  snow  storms,  and  now  and 
then  a  warm  day.  But  the  sun  is  drawing  nearer 
tons;  when  it  does  shine,  it  is  to  some  purpose; 
and  in  this  month  comes  the  birthday  of  Washing 
ton,  and  that  day  is  frequently  celebrated  by  social 
meetings,  balls,  and  parties.  It  is  also  a  shirt 
month,  and  it  is  the  last  month  of  Winter,  and  \:e 
bear  it  as  well  as  we  can,  because  we  feel  that 
spring,  at  least  in  name,  is  coming.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  month  it  is  well  to  sow  mignionette  in 
pots  and  boxes  in  the  windows.  It  brings  it  fcr- 
ward  early,  and  it  smells  so  sweet,  that  one  who 
has  once  enjoyed  it  will  hardly  be  willing  to  do 
without  it.'  Parlor  flowers  should  be  well  watched, 
for  some  of  the  nights  of  this  month  arc  very  cold. 
The  proverb  is, — 

"As  the  days  begin  to  lengthen, 
The  cold  begins  to  strengthen," 

and  it  is  not  less  true  of  the  nights.  Many  a  ten 
der  parlor  plant  which  has  lived  through  Decemb3r 
and  January,  is  touched  by  the  cold  nights  of  FCJ- 
ruary  and  March.  A  large  cloth  thrown  over  the 
flower  stand  is  a  protection.  Some  persons  recom 
mend  a  bowl  of  water  to  be  placed  under  the  cloih 
with  the  plant.  If,  notwithstanding  all  precau 
tions,  they  should  be  touched  with  the  frost,  th<  y 
should  be  sprinkled  in  the  morning  with  cold  water ; 
this  will  sometimes  prevent  them  from  dying. 

MARCH  is  a  cold,  blustering  month.  With  us  it 
is  often  the  most  uncomfortable  one  in  the  year. 
The  old  farmers  used  to  say  they  could  depend  on 
"  six  weeks  sledding  in  March."  We  have  some 
times,  however,  a  few  warm  and  pleasant  days  to 
give  us  a  foretaste  of  spring.  It  is  not  desirable 


VEGETABLE  AND  FLOWER  GARDEN.     103 

that  they  should  continue  long  enough  to  bring  for 
ward  vegetation  in  any  great  degree,  for  we  are 
certain  to  have  cold  weather  after  it.  We  had  bet 
ter  bear  patiently  the  cold  and  bleak  winds  while 
we  are  clad  in  furs,  than  be  compelled  to  lay  them 
aside  only  to  take  them  up  again.  The  rains 
which  come  from  time  to  time  are  apt  to  be  cold, 
and  often  mingled  with  snow.  If  the  weather 
should  be  warm  at  the  very  end  of  the  month,  the 
snow-drop  may  be  looked  for,  the  first  flower  of 
spring,  and  such  a  hardy  little  thing,  that  it  does 
not  mind  if  a  snow  storm  comes  along  and  covers 
it  up  for  a  day  or  two.  As  soon  as  the  sun  melts 
it  off,  it  looks  as  bright  as  ever  again. 

APRIL. — If  the  weather  is  favorable,  and  we  are 
not  visited  with  snow  storms  and  cold  rains,  as  is 
too  often  the  case,  some  preparation  may  now  be 
made  for  a  garden.  Asparagus  beds  may  be  pre 
pared,  beans  and  peas  sowed,  and  potatoes  for  early 
use  may  be  planted.  Housewives  will  endeavor  to 
make  preparation  for  a  variety  of  the  fragrant  and 
medicinal  herbs  used  in  a  family,  fennel,  marjoram, 
sage,  parsley,  lavender,  balm,  mint,  &c.  Garden 
vegetables,  lettuce,  onions,  parsnips,  radishes,  and 
salsafy,  may  be  sowed.  Cucumbers  under  pots 
and  glasses. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  month,  flower  seeds  may 
be  sown.  If  bulbs  were  put  into  the  ground  last 
year,  they  will  begin  to  be  in  blossom  this  month 
in  sunny  places,  which  are  sheltered  from  the  cold 
winds.  The  crocus  and  snow  drops,  the  narcis 
suses,  will  show  their  flowers,  and  the  crown  impe 
rials,  tulips,  and  hyacinths,  will  be  giving  promise 
of  their  future  beauties.  The  flower  beds  must 
now  be  raked  fine.  If  rose  bushes  and  other  shrubs 


104     VEGETABLE  AND  FLOWER  GARDEX. 

are  to  be  removed,  the  best  time  is  soon  after  tde 
frost  leaves  the  ground.  The  tops  of  rose  bushes 
should  be  cut  off,  which  makes  them  bloom  strong 
er.  Perennial  and  biennial  seeds  should  be  sown 
in  a  bed  by  themselves,  and  moved  to  the  flow  er 
garden  when  of  a  proper  size.  As  a  general  ru.e, 
flower  seeds  are  better  to  be  rolled  into  the  gromd 
with  a  roller,  or  pressed  in  with  a  board,  as  some 
kinds  will  not  otherwise  vegetate.  It  is  necessary 
to  rake  the  ground  a  little  before  sowing,  as  it  be 
comes  hard  by  the  frequent  rains  which  fall  this 
month.  The  following  are  some  of  the  seels 
which  may  be  sown  toward  the  middle  and  end  of 
this  month :  White  Chrysanthemum,  Prince's  Feath 
er,  Red  Lavatera,  Grand  flowering  Argemon'e, 
Night  flowering  Primrose,  Scorzonera,  Scarlet  Ma- 
lope,  White  Catchfly,  Pot  Marigold,  African  Ro^e, 
Azure  Blue  Gilia,  Sweet  Alyssum,  White  Candy 
tuft,  Mignionette,  and  some  others.  In  removi  ig 
plants  from  one  part  of  the  garden  to  another,  take 
up  a  large  portion  of  the  earth,  that  the  roots  may 
be  disturbed  as  little  as  possible.  The  pretty  little 
wild  flower,  called  the  May  flower,  (Epigeia  Repcns) 
is  seen  in  some  parts  of  the  country  in  the  course 
of  this  month  ;  the  leaves  are  evergreen  under  the 
snow,  and  as  soon  as  this  cold  covering  is  removed, 
the  little  flower  appears.  It  grows  in  abundance 
at  Plymouth,  Mass.,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the 
first  flower  which  saluted  the  eyes  of  the  Pilgrim 
fathers,  after  their  arrival  on  these  shores,  and  to 
have  received  its  name  from  that  circumstance. 

MAY. — Tomatoes  may  be  sowed  in  a  warm  situ 
ation.  Plant  cucumbers,  melons,  and  squashes. 
Plant  beans.  Weed  and  thin  radishes.  Plant 
corn  for  the  table.  Weed  plants  that  may  have 


VEGETABLE  AND  FLOWER  GARDEN.     105 

come  up.  Sow  turnips  and  peas.  Transplant 
early  lettuce.  In  the  middle  of  the  day,  when  the 
weather  is  mild,  cucumber  frames  may  be  opened 
to  inure  the  young  plants  to  the  air.  But  they  must 
be  carefully  shut  up  at  evening. 

This  is  the  time,  if  the  season  be  favorable,  for 
Hyacinths  and  Narcissuses.  There  are  some 
early  Tulips,  but  none  so  fine  as  those  which  ap 
pear  later.  The  Dwarf  Phlox  begins  to  show  its 
lively  flowers,  asd  the  Dwarf  Iris.  The  Periwin 
kle  is  also  seen  at  the  end  of  this  month,  with  its 
pretty  blue  flowers  and  myrtle  like  leaf.  The 
seeds  to  be  sown  this  month  are,  Morning  Glory, 
Starry  Ipomea,  Nasturtium,  Balloon  vine,  Red  four 
o'clock,  Violet  Zinnia,  Yellow  Immortal  flower, 
Blue  Commelina,  Tricolored  Amaranthus,  Red 
Opium  Poppy,  French  Marigold,  Blue  Lupine, 
Double  Carnation,  Poppy,  Double  purple  Balsams, 
Scarlet  Cacalia,  Wing  leaved  Schizanthus,  Thun- 
bergia,  and  others. 

JUNE. — Such  seeds  as  were  not  planted  the  last 
month,  must  now  be  put  into  the  ground.  Toward 
the  last  of  the  month,  melons  and  cucumbers  for 
pickling  must  be  sowed.  Those  cucumbers  which 
are  under  glasses,  must  be  watered  and  the  frames 
lifted  up  during  the  day,  that  they  may  have  fresh 
air.  It  is  safest  to  close  them  at  night,  particularly 
in  the  early  part  of  the  month,  as  the  nights  are 
occasionally  cold.  Trenches  must  be  prepared  for 
transplanting  young  celery  plants.  Onion  and  as 
paragus  beds  must  be  kept  carefully  weeded. 
Young  vegetables,  wrhich  have  been  transplanted, 
should  be  watered  at  night. 

The  annuals  must  be  thinned  out,  and  such  as 
are  wanted  to  mix  with  the  perennials  must  be 
10 


106     VEGETABLE  AND  FLOWER  GARDEN. 

transplanted  the  last  part  of  this  month,  the  surface 
of  the  ground  must  be  kept  light,  and  no  weeds 
suffered  to  remain.  The  Peoney  is  now  in  iis 
glory;  many  superb  varieties  of  this  flower  have 
been  introduced  from  China;  the  common  species 
was  introduced  into  Antwerp  a  little  more  than  two 
hundred  years  ago,  and  then  sold  for  an  enormoi  s 
price.  It  is  now  common  in  every  garden.  It  is 
said  that  there  are  as  many  as  fifty  different  spe 
cies  and  varieties,  some  a  pure  white,  blush,  and 
shades  of  red  and  purple.  As  soon  as  the  foliage 
of  the  Tulips  begins  to  turn  purple,  the  roots  should 
be  taken  up  and  laid  in  a  shady  place  to  dry,  cs 
also  the  Crocuses.  The  Crown  Imperial  should 
also  be  removed  the  last  of  the  month.  The  Hyu- 
cinths  are  longer  in  coming  to  maturity  ;  in  about 
two  months  from  the  time  of  blowing,  when  the 
leaves  begin  to  turn  yellow,  which  is  about  the 
middle  of  July,  they  may  be  taken  up  and  treated 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  tulips. 

JULY. — Garden  seeds  must  be  gathered  as  they 
ripen,  and  arranged,  when  dried,  in  paper  bags, 
with  the  name  written  upon  them,  ready  for  the 
next  year's  planting.  Garden  seeds  for  the  late 
and  winter  crops  may  be  sowed.  Those  cauli 
flower  plants  wich  were  sown  in  May,  may  be 
now  planted  out  in  rows  ;  they  will  ripen  in  Octo 
ber  and  November.  Turnip  beds  may  be  thinned 
out,  but  in  doing  this,  care  must  be  taken  to  pull 
away  those  only  which  are  the  most  feeble  look 
ing,  and  where  they  are  growing  too  closely  to 
gether.  Choose  the  healthiest  plants  to  remain, 
and  let  them  stand  about  six  inches  from  each 
other.  People  who  are  fond  of  having  crops  of 
garden  vegetables  succeed  each  other  until  late  in 


VEGETABLE    AND    FLOWER    GARDEN*.  107 

the  season,  will  sow  peas  again  this  month.  On 
ions  which  have  attained  their  full  size  and  are  be 
ginning  to  change  to  a  yellow  color,  should  have 
their  tops  bent  down  to  the  earth,  which  prevents 
the  vigor  and  juice  from  running  all  into  the  stems. 
The  vines  of  the  cucumbers  should  be  disposed  in 
straight  lines,  and  the  earth  carefully  dug  about  the 
stems  of  the  plants.  When  the  weather  is  hot  and 
the  ground  very  dry,  the  young  crops  and  the  plants 
lately  transplanted,  should  be  watered. 

The  flower  garden  continues  in  its  glory,  in 
creased,  if  any  thing,  by  the  later  Roses,  the  Pinks, 
Carnations,  Larkspurs,  Feverfew  Coreopsis,  Phlox 
es,  Canterbury  Bell,  and  many  others.  The  plants 
should  be  kept  neatly  tied  up  to  sticks,  and  the 
flower  beds  neatly  weeded.  They  require  con 
stant  attention,  as  the  weeds  as  well  as  the  flowers 
know  this  is  their  growing  time.  Flowers  which 
have  been  kept  in  the  house  during  the  winter,  are 
thought  by  some  persons  to  be  improved  by  being 
set  out  in  the  garden,  the  pots  sunk  into  the  earth. 
It  is  often  advantageous  to  them  to  take  them  (at 
least  the  common  kinds,  such  as  roses  and  the 
more  hardy  geraniums,)  from  the  pots,  and  place 
them  in  the  ground  during  the  hot  weather.  Dou 
ble  pinks  and  carnations  may  be  propagated  by 
layers.  They  can  also  be  increased  by  piping, 
which  is  done  by  cutting  off  the  sprouts  entirely, 
and  setting  them  in  small  pots,  which,  if  covered 
by  a  tumbler,  will  form  roots.  An  immense  num 
ber  of  varieties  of  carnations  and  pinks  are  cultiva 
ted  by  florists. 

AUGUST. — The  weeds  grow  so  fast  at  this  sea 
son  of  the  year,  that  they  require  constant  atten 
tion.  Young  weeds  must  be  cleared  from  the  beds 


108     VEGETABLE  AND  FLOWER  GARPEV. 

of  young  plants,  and  old  ones  must  be  cut  do\v  i 
before  their  seed  ripens,  or  the  wind  will  scatter  it 
about  the  garden. 

The  flowers  this  month  are  all  of  a  gorgeou? , 
brilliant  appearance.  There  is  the  Sun  Flowei, 
the  red,  red  and  white  Hibiscus,  the  Double  Holh  - 
hocks  of  various  colors  ;  the  white  and  Pyramid;  1 
Phlox,  the  Tiger  Lily.  Not  much  is  to  be  clone  i  i 
the  flower  garden,  but  to  save  seeds,  as  they  become 
ripe;  cut  down  decayed  plants,  and  tie  up  an  1 
trim  others  of  their  superfluous  foliage.  The  ar 
bors  are  now  fully  covered  with  odoriferous  vinos, 
and  are  a  delightful  retreat  toward  evening,  when 
the  honeysuckles  give  out  their  most  delicious  odo  •. 

SEPTEMBER. — There  is  not  much  to  be  done  with 
the  garden  now  but  to  enjoy  its  fruits,  and  its  bril 
liant  though  somewhat  gaudy  flowers.  One  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  them  is  the  Dahlia,  which  has, 
within  a  few  years,  been  introduced  into  the  ga  > 
dens  of  New  England.  It  was  not  much  cultiva 
ted  in  England  until  the  year  1814.  It  is  a  nath  e 
of  Mexico,  and  was  named  after  a  Swedish  bota 
nist  of  the  name  of  Dahl,  a  pupil  of  the  celebrated 
Linnaeus.  The  first  introduced  into  Europe  was  a 
purple  one,  in  1789,  which  was  single.  Since 
then  there  have  been  very  numerous  and  beautiful 
varieties  introduced.  They  are  produced  either 
from  the  seeds  or  by  dividing  the  roots.  They 
will  flower  the  first  year  from  the  seed,  but  very 
few  will  be  double.  The  finest  varieties  are  prop 
agated  by  dividing  the  roots,  which  are  tuberous, 
and  resemble  the  sweet  potatoe.  As  soon  as  the 
frost  has  blackened  the  tops,  they  should  be  dug  up 
and  put  into  a  warm,  dry  cellar,  secure  from  frost. 
When  the  spring  returns,  they  must  be  divided  by  a 


VEGETABLE  AND  FLOWER  GARDEX.     109 

sharp  knife,  being  careful  to  leave  a  bud  on  each 
bulb,  or  else  they  will  not  grow.  Gardeners  also 
raise  them  by  cuttings. 

OCTOBER. — Though  the  flower  garden  is  now 
hardly  beautiful  enough  to  lead  us  to  meet  the  fogs  of 
a  chilly  October  morning,  yet  in  the  middle  of  the 
day  it  still  looks  brilliant,  with  its  high  colored,  but 
scentless  flowers.  The  sweet  Alyssum,  however, 
does  not  deserve  the  latter  appellation,  and  that 
may  still  be  found  by  the  side  of  the  modest  and 
ever  welcome  Heart's-ease,  which,  under  any  of 
its  names,  or  of  whatever  species,  deserves  all  the 
praise  of  the  hundred  and  one  sonnets  which  have 
been  written  in  its  honor. 

Bulbous  roots  may  be  planted  this  month.  Holes 
should  be  dug  one  foot  and  a  half  deep,  and  filled 
with  a  previously  prepared  compost  of  one  third 
fine  river  sand,  one  third  decayed  scrapings  of  the 
cowyard,  and  one  third  well  rotted  pasture  turf. 
Polpenthus,  Narcissus,  Peonies,  Crown  Imperials, 
and  Lilies  should  be  planted  five  inches  deep  from 
the?top  of  the  bulb.  Hyacinths  four  inches  ;  Tu 
lips,  Narcissus,  and  Jonquils  three  inches,  and  Cro 
cuses  and  Snowdrops  two  inches. 

During  this  month  it  is  well  to  dress  asparagus 
beds.  This  will  be  done  by  cutting  down  all  the 
weeds  into  the  alleys,  digging  these  one  spade 
deep,  and  spreading  the  earth  evenly  over  the  beds. 
The  old  beds  must  be  covered  with  quite  rotten 
manure,  and  afterward  with  the  earth  from  the 
alleys.  Remember  to  carry  away,  immediately, 
the  stalks  of  the  old  plants  and  the  weeds.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  month,  (if  the  weather  be  dry,) 
the  carrots  and  potatoes  may  be  dug  up  and  carried 
into  the  cellar  for  winter  use.  All  the  spare 
10* 


110     VEGETABLE  AND  FLOWER  GARDEN. 

ground  too  should  be  well  dug  and  trenched.  The 
baking  and  other  winter  pears  and  apples  shoul  1 
be  carefully  gathered,  not  bruised.  The  raspber 
ries  may  be  pruned  this  month,  and  the  youn^ 
suckers  removed  to  create  new  plants.  Make  fresti 
layers  of  carnations.  Dig  and  dress  up  the  flower 
borders,  and  transplant  such  flowers  as  may  be 
found  necessary.  Divide  the  roots  of  others  th;  t 
have^increased  too  much.  Prune  and  plant  all  flow  - 
ering  shrubs  and  evergreens.  Weed  the  gravel 
walks  frequently  and  thoroughly. 

NOVEMBER. — In  the  flower  garden  clear  all  the 
beds  from  dead  annual  plants,  pulling  them  out  bv 
their  roots.  Cut  down,  too,  all  the  dead  stalks  of 
perennials,  then  hoe  the  borders  of  a  dry  day,  clear 
away  the  weeds,  and  rake  the  whole  smooth.  The 
soil  in  the  spring  will  be  greatly  improved  by  being 
manured  at  this  time,  for  the  frost  and  sun  and  air 
all  contribute  to  render  it  tine  and  mellow  for  the 
spring  crops. 

DECEMBER. — The  garden  is  hard  bound  by  the 
frost,  or  covered  over  with  its  garment  of  snow  ;  it 
affords  now  no  occupation  or  pleasure.  The  green 
house,  to  those  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  possess 
a  luxury  of  this  kind,  must  take  its  place.  For 
lack  of  this,  a  flower  stand,  filled  with  flowering 
shrubs,  is  a  source  of  pleasure.  Care  must  be 
taken  to  keep  the  leaves  of  parlor  plants  washed 
clean,  the  earth  moist,  and  loosened  about  the 
roots.  If  the  plants  are  in  a  room  which  is  daily 
swept,  it  is  better  to  throw  a  large  cloth  over  them 
to  protect  them  from  the  dust,  which  is  very  injuri 
ous  to  the  plants. 


Ill 


CHAPTER  X. 

MANAGEMENT    OF    PLANTS    IN    ROOMS. 
From  the  Lady's  Book  of  Flowers  and  Poetry. 

PERHAPS  a  few  hints  on  the  management  of  plants 
in  rooms,  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  our  readers. 
We,  therefore,  extract  from  Paxton's  Magazine  of 
Botany,  the  following  observations  : — 

"  Hints  on  the  general  management  of  plants  are 
attended  with  considerable  difficulty  ;  every  genus 
requiring  some  little  variation,  both  in  soil,  water, 
and  general  treatment.  If  the  room  where  the 
plants  are  intended  to  be  placed,  is  dark  and  close, 
but  few  will  ever  thrive  in  it ;  if,  on  the  contrary,  it 
is  light  and  airy,  with  the  windows  in  suitable  as 
pect  to  receive  the  sun,  plants  will  do  nearly  as 
well  as  in  a  greenhouse.  If  observed  to  suffer, 
the  effects  may  be  traced  to  these  causes,  either 
want  of  proper  light  and  air — injudicious  water 
ing — filthiness  collected  on  the  leaves — or  being 
potted  in  unsuitable  soil. 

"  1.  Want  of  proper  light  and  air,  is  perhaps  the 
most  essential  point  of  any  to  be  considered  ;  for, 
however  well  all  other  requisites  are  attended  to,  a 
deficiency  of  these  will  always  cause  the  plant  to 
grow  weak  and  sickly.  Let  them  always  be  pla 
ced  as  near  the  light  as  they  can  conveniently 
stand,  and  receive  as  much  air  as  can  be  admitted 
when  the  weather  will  allow.  Those  persons  who 
have  no  other  place  than  the  house  to  keep  them  in, 
will  find  that  they  derive  immense  advantage  from 


112    MANAGEMENT  OF  PLANTS  INT  ROOMS. 

being,  during  fine  weather  in  spring  or  autumn, 
turned  out  of  doors  in  the  evening,  and  taken  in 
again  in  the  morning,  the  night-dews  contributing 
greatly  to  their  health  and  vigor. 

"2.  Injudicious  watering  does  more  injury  to 
plants  in  rooms  than  we  imagine.  To  prevent  the 
soil  ever  having  the  appearance  of  dryness,  is  an 
object  of  importance  in  the  estimation  of  very 
many  ;  they,  therefore,  water  to  such  an  excess 
that  the  mould  becomes  sodden,  and  the  roots  per 
ish.  Others,  to  avoid  this  evil,  give  scarcely  wate; 
enough  to  sustain  life.  This,  however,  is  by  n<> 
means  so  common  a  practice  ;  for,  in  general,  if 
any  thing  appears  to  be  the  matter  with  the  plant, 
large  doses  of  water  are  immediately  resorted  to, 
for  an  infallible  restorative.  This  overplus  of 
water  will  show  its  bad  effects  by  the  very  dark 
color,  and  flabby  disposition  of  the  leaves;  but  if 
the  plant  receives  too  little  water,  its  leaves  will 
turn  yellow,  and  eventually  die. 

"  The  best  plan  is,  to  always  allow  the  soil  in 
the  pot  to  have  the  appearance  of  dryness  (but 
never  sufficient  to  make  the  plant  flag,)  before  a 
supply  of  water  is  given,  which  should  then  "be 
pretty  copious  ;  but  always  empty  it  out  of  the  pan 
or  feeder,  in  which  the  pot  stands,  as  soon  as  the 
soil  is  properly  drained.  The  water  used  for  the; 
purpose  ought  always  to  be  made  about  the  same 
temperature  as  the  room  in  which  the  plants  grow  ; 
never  use  it  fresh  from  the  pump,  either  let  it  stand 
in  a  room  all  night,  or  take  off  the  chill  by  a  little 
warm  water,  otherwise  the  growth  of  the  plants 
will  be  much  checked. 

"3.  Extraneous  matter  collected  on  the  leaves 
may  either  arise  from  insects  or  dust ;  the  former 


MANAGEMENT  OF  PLANTS  IN*  ROOMS.    113 

may  be  speedily  remedied,  by  placing  the  plants 
under  a  hand-glass,  or  any  thing  that  is  convenient, 
and  burning  some  tobacco  until  they  become  well 
enveloped  in  the  smoke  ;  and  the  latter  may  be  re 
moved  by  occasionally  washing  them  on  the  head 
with  pure  water,  either  by  means  of  a  syringe,  the 
nose  of  a  watering  pan,  or  with  a  sponge,  when 
the  dust  still  adheres. 

"  Bulbs  of  most  sorts  flourish  in  rooms  with  less 
care  than  most  other  plants.  Hyacinths  should  be 
planted  in  autumn.  Fill  the  pots  with  light  rich 
soil,  and  plant  the  bulbs  so  shallow  that  nearly 
half  the  bulb  stands  above  the  soil,  place  the  pots 
in  the  open  air,  and  cover  them  six  or  eight  inches 
with  rotten  bark.  During  spring,  take  them  out  as 
they  are  wanted  to  bring  into  flower,  and  set  them 
in  the  window  of  a  warm  room,  where  they  will 
be  exposed  to  the  sun.  When  the  leaves  begin  to 
decay  after  flowering,  give  them  no  water ;  when 
the  leaves  are  dead,  take  them  out  of  the  soil,  and 
lay  them  in  an  airy  situation  for  planting. 

"  If  grown  in  water-glasses,  they  require  to  be 
placed  in  a  light  airy  situation,  and  the  water  must 
be  changed  every  three  or  four  days." 


114 


CHAPTER  XL 


FLORA'S  REVEALINGS. 


A. 

Acacia.     Chaste  Love. 

Acanthus.  The  Arts. 

Almond.    Heedlessness. 

Aloe.  Acute  Sorrow  or  Af 
fliction. 

Altkcca  Fruter.    Persuasion. 

Amaranth.     Immortality. 

Ambrosia.     Love  returned. 

American  Coicslip.  You  are 
my  divinity. 

American  Elm.    Patriotism. 

American  Linden.  Matrimo 
ny- 

American  Star-Wort.  Wel 
come  to  a  Stranger. 

Anemone.     Sickness. 

Apple-Tree  Blossom.  Fame 
speaks  him  great  and  good. 

Ash.     Grandeur. 

Ash-Leaved  Trumpct-Floicer. 
Separation, 

Aspen-Tree.     Lamentation. 

B. 

Bachelor's  Button.  I  with  the 
morning's  love  have  oft 
made  sport. 

Balm.     A*  cure. 

Balsam.     Impatience. 

Barberry.     Sourness. 

Bay-Berry.     Instruction. 

Bay-Leaf.  I  change  but  in 
dying. 


Bay-Wreath.    The  Reward  jf 

Merit. 

Beech-Tree.     Grandeur. 
Bell-Floicer.    Constancy. 
Birch.    Gracefulness. 
Bird- Cherry.     Hope. 
Black  Poplar.     Courage. 
Black  Thorn.    Difficulty. 
Blue  Bottle   Ccntuary.  "  De  i- 

cacy. 
Blue  "Pyramidal  Bell  Floictr. 

Constancy. 
Box.     Stoicism. 
Bramble.    Remorse. 
Branch  of   Currants.       Y<  u 

please  all. 
Branch  of  Thorns.     Se verily 

or  Rigor. 
Bud  of   a    white    Eo?c.       \ 

Heart  ignorant  of  Love. 
Butter-Cup.  Childishness. 
Butterfly  Orchis.  Gaiety. 

C. 

Cabbage.     Profit. 

Canterbury  Bell.     Gratitude. 

Cardinal's  Flower.  Distinc 
tion. 

Catalpa  Tree.  Beware  of  the 
coquette. 

Cedar  of  Lebanon,  Incorrup 
tible. 

Cedar  Tree.     Strength. 


FLORA  S    REVEALIXGS. 


115 


Chamomile.  Energy  in  ad 
versity. 

Cherry  Tree  Blossom.  Spirit 
ual  beauty. 

Chesnut  Tree.  Render  me 
justice. 

China  Aster  or,  Chinese  Star- 
wort.  Variety. 

China  or  Indian  Pink.  Aver 
sion. 

China  Rose.  Beauty  always 
new. 

Cock's  comb,  or  crested  Ama- 

£  ranth.     Singularity. 

Common  Bramble.     Envy. 

Common  Cactus,  or  Indian 
Fig.  I  burn. 

Common  Laurel  in  Flower. 
Perfidy. 

Common  Reed.  Complais 
ance. 

Common  Thistle,  Importu 
nity. 

Coriander.  Concealed  mer 
it. 

Cowslip.    Pensiveness. 

Cranberry.     Hardiness. 

Creeping  Cereus.     Horror. 

Crocus.    Cheerfulness. 

Cross  of  Jerusalem.  Devo 
tion. 

Crown  Imperial.  Majesty 
and  power. 

Cypress.     Despair. 

Cypress  Tree.  Death  and 
Eternal  Sorow. 

D. 

Dahlia.  Instability. 
Daisy.  Innocence. 
Damask  Rose.  Freshness  of 

complexion. 
Dandelion.    Oracle. 
Dew  Plant.    A  Serenade. 


Double  Daisy.    Participation. 
Dragon  Plant.    Snare. 
Dried  Flax.    Utility. 

E. 

Elder.    Zealousness. 
F.ln.     Dignity. 
Endive.    Frugality. 
Ever-Flowering    Candy-Tuft. 

Indifference. 
Ercrgreen.    Poverty. 
Everlasting.      Never-ceasing: 

Remembrance. 

F. 

Fennel.    Worthy  all  praise. 
Fern.     Fascination. 
Fig.    Argument. 
Fig-Tree.     Prolific. 
Filbert.    Reconciliation. 
Fir.     Time. 
Flax.    Fate. 
Flower  of  an  Hour.    Delicate 

beauty. 

Forget  me-not.    True  Love. 
Frankincense.     The   incense 

of  a  faithful  heart. 
French  Honeysuckle.     Rustic 

Beauty. 

French  mar  ]i gold.     Jealousy, 
Full  Blown  Rose.    Beauty. 

G. 

Garden  Marygold.      Uneasi 
ness. 

Garden  Ranunculus.    You  are 
rich  in  attraction. 

Garden  Sage.      Esteem. 

Glory  Flower.     Glorious 
Beauty. 

Grape,  Wild.    Charity. 

Grass.    Submission. 

Great  Flmcered  Evening  Prim 
rose.    Inconstancy. 


116 


FLORAS    REVEALINGS. 


H. 

Hare-Bell.     Delicate  and 
Lonely  as  this  Flower. 

Hawthorn.     Hope. 

Hazel.     Reconciliation. 

Heath.     Solitude. 

Hellebore.     Calumny. 

Hemlock.     You  will  cause  my 
Death. 

Hickory,     Glory. 

Hoarhound.      Frozen    Kind 
ness. 

Holly.     Foresight. 

Hollyhock.     Fecundity. 

Honesty.     Honesty. 

Plop.     Injustice. 

Horse  Chesnut.     Luxuriancy, 

Hundred-Leaved  Rose.  Grace. 

Haydnth.     Play  or  Games. 

Hydr  anger.     Boaster. 

I. 

Iceland  moss.     Health. 
Jce  Plant.     You  freeze  me. 
Indian  Cress.     Resignation. 
Iris.     Message. 
Ivy.    Fidelity. 

J. 

Japan  Rose.      Beauty  is  your 

only  attraction. 
Juniper.     Asylum. 

K. 

Kenncdia.     Mental  Beauty. 
King-Cup.     I  wish  I  was  rich. 

L. 

Laburnum.     Pensive  Beauty. 
Lady's   Slipper.      Capricious 

Beauty. 

larkspur.     Levity. 
Laurd.    Glory. 


'  Laurel- Leaved  magnolia.  Dig 
nity. 

j  Lavender.     Assiduity. 

j  Lemon.     Zest. 

j  Lettuce.     Cold-Hearted. 

|  Lichen.     Solitude. 

i  Lilac.     Forsaken. 

|  Lily  of  the  Valley.     Return  of 

Happiness. 
Lime  or  Linden  Tree.    Con  u- 

gal  Fidelity. 
Live  Oak.     Liberty. 

I  Lobelia.     Arrogance. 

•  Locust.     Vicissitude. 

i  London-Pride.     Frivolity. 

|  Lotus -Floicer.     Silence. 

I  Love  lies  a- Bleeding.      Hope 
less  not  Heartless. 

I  Lucerne.     Life. 

|  Lupine.     Voraciousness. 

1  Ly  thrum.     Pretension. 

M. 

i  Madder,     Calumny, 
Maize.     Plenty. 
Malloio.     Sweet  Disposition. 
Mandrake.     Rarity. 
Maple.     Reserve. 
Majoram.     Blushes. 
Marsh  mallow.     Humanity 
Marygold.     Despair. 
May  Rose.     Precocity. 
Meadow    Saffron.      My    best 

days  are  past. 
Mignonette.      Your   qualities 

surpass  your  charms. 
Misletoe.      Obstacles    to    be 

overcome  or  surmounted. 
Mock  Orange.     Counterfeit. 
Moss.    Recluse. 
Moss  Rose.      Voluptuous 

Love. 
Motherwort.      Concealed 

Love. 


FLORA'S  REVEALINGS. 


117 


Mountain  Ash,     Prudence. 
Mulberry  Tree.     Wisdom. 
Mushroom.     Suspicion. 
Musk    Rose.      Capricious 

Beauty. 
Myrtle.     Love. 

N. 

Narcissus.     Egotism. 
Nasturtium.     Patriotism. 
Nettle.     Slander. 
Night  Blooming  Ccreus.  Tran 
sient  Beauty. 


Oak. 


O. 

Hospitality. 


Oats.     The  witching  soul  of 

music,  hers. 
Oleander.     Beware. 
Olive.    Peace. 
Orange  Floiccrs.     Chastity. 
Orange  Tree.     Generosity. 
Osier.     Frankness. 

P. 

Palm.     Victory. 

Pansee  or  Heart's  Ease.  You 
occupy  my  thoughts. 

Parsley.    Feast  or  Banquet. 

Passion  Flower.  Religious 
Superstition. 

Pea.    An  appointed  meeting, 

Peach  Blossom.  I  am  your 
captive. 

Penny  Royal.     Flee  away. 

Peony.     Bashful  shame. 

Persimon,  Bury  me  amid 
Nature's  Beauties. 

Pine.     Pity. 

Pine  Apple.  You  are  per 
fect. 

Plum  Tree.    Independence. 

Pomegranate.    Foolishness. 


Consolation  to  the 


Prickly  Pear,     Satire. 
Pride  of  China.     Dissension. 
Primrose.     Early  Youth. 
Pyrus  Japonica.      Fairies' 

Fire.         • 

R. 

Ragged  Robbin.     Wit. 
Red  Mulberry.     Wisdom. 
Red  Pink.      Lively  and  pure 

love. 

Rose.     Genteel,  Pretty. 
Rose,  Acacia.     Elegance. 
Rose   Campion.      You  arc 

without  pretension. 
Rosemary.     Fidelity. 
Rudbcckia.     Justice. 
Rue.     Grace,  or  Purification. 
Rush.     Docility. 

S. 

Saffron    Flower.      Do   not 
abuse. 

Saffron  Crocus.     Mirth. 

Scarlet  Flowered  Ipomtea.    At 
tachment. 

Scarlet  Fuchsia.    Taste. 

Scarlet    Geran&m.       Prefer 
ence. 

Scarlet  Nasturtium.      Splen 
dor. 

Scotch  Fir.    Elevation. 

Small  White  Violet.     Candor 
and  Innocence. 

Snap    Dragon.       Presump 
tion. 

Snow   Ball.      Thoughts  of 
Heaven. 

Snow  Drop.    Consolation. 

Sorrel.    Wit  ill-timed. 

Southern  Wood.     Jest  or  Ban 
tering. 


11 


118 


FLORAS    REVEALIN7GS. 


Spanish  Jasmine.  Sensual- 1 
ity. 

Stinging  Nettle.     Cruelty. 

Strawberry.  Perfect  Good 
ness. 

Sun  Flower.    False  Riches. 

Sweet  Briar.     P«etry. 

Sweet  Pea.  Delicate  Pleas- i 
ure. 

Sweet  Violet.    Modesty. 

Sweet  William.     Craftiness. 

Sycamore.  V^7'oodland  Beau 
ty. 

T. 

Tansy.     Resistance. 
Thorn  Apple.        Deceitful 

Charms.  . 
Thyme.    Activity. 
Tiger-Flower.    For  once  may 

Pride  befriend  me. 
Tulip.     Declaration  of  Love. 
Turnip.     Charity. 

V. 

Verbena.     Sensibility. 
Vernal    Grass.      Poor  but 

Vine.     Drunkenness. 
Virginian    Spiderwort.      Mo 
mentary  Happiness. 

W. 

Watt  Flower.  Fidelity  in  Mis 
fortune. 

Walnut.    Intellect. 
Water  Melon.    Bulkiness, 


Weeping  Willow.  Melan 
choly. 

Wheat.     Riches. 

White  Jasmine.  Amiable- 
ness. 

White  Lily.  Purity  and  Mod 
esty. 

White  Mullein.  Good  Na 
ture. 

White  Oak.    Independence 

White  Pink.     Talent. 

White  Poplar.    Time. 

White  Poppy.  Sleep  of  the 
Heart. 

White  Rose,  Dried.  Death 
preferable  to  loss  of  Inno 
cence. 

White  Violet.  Purity  of  Sen 
timent. 

Willow.     Forsaken. 

Willow  Herb.     Pretension. 

Winter  Cherry.    Deception. 

Witch  Hazel.     A  Spell. 

Wood  Sorrel.  Maternal  Ten 
derness. 

Wormwood.     Absence. 

Y. 

Yellow  Carnation.     Disdain. 
Yellow  Day  Lily.     Coquetry. 
Yellow  Gentian.     Ingratitude. 
Yellow  Iris.     Flame  of  Love. 
Yellow  Rose.    Infidelity. 
Yew.     Sorrow. 

Z. 

Zinnia.    Absence. 


119 


CHAPTER  XII. 


,-Ve  add  this  chapter,  which  we  have  select^. 

jm  Mrs.  Laudon's  Ladies'  Companion  to  the  Flower 

farden,  that  our  readers  may  have  the  benefit  of 

;er  very  excellent  remarks  on  Planting,  and  on  the 

Gathering  and  Preservation  of  Seeds. 

i*       *   41. 

PLAN7TING. 

Planting  is  the  operation  of  inserting  plants  in 
the  soil,  either  in  the  free  ground  or  in  pots.  The 
simplest  kind  of  planting  is  that  which  consists  in 
removing  small  seedling  plants,  or  such  as  have 
been  struck  from  cuttings  or  layers  ;  and  this  is 
commonly  performed  by  making  a  round  hole  with 
a  dibber,  and  putting  in  the  root  of  the  plant  to  the 
same  depth  as  it  had  been  covered  with  earth  be 
fore,  and  making  it  fast  by  thrusting  the  dibber  into 
the  firm  earth  beside  the  hole,  and  pressing  it  to  the 
root.  In  this  operation,  the  great  art  is  to  make 
the  root  fast  at  the  lower  extremity.  Thus,  in 
planting  common  seedlings  of  annuals,  or  even 
cabbage-plants,  if  the  earth  be  pressed  close  to  the 
root  at  the  upper  part,  and  not  at  the  extreme  points, 
the  success  will  hardly  be  complete  ;  and  in  tender 
plants,  or  in  a  dry  season,  a  failure  will  be  the  re 
sult.  In  planting  plants  of  a  larger  size,  a  small 
pit  should  be  opened  by  the  spade  or  trowel ;  the 
bottom  of  the  pit  having  been  formed  into  a  cone 
or  small  hill,  the  plant  should  be  placed  in  the  cen 
tre,  and  the  roots  spread  out  equally  over  it  on  ev- 


120  PLANTING. 

ery  side.  The  roots  are  then  to  be  covered  with 
soil  gently  pressed  over  them  ;  and  the  operatic n 
must  be  finished  by  watering,  so  as  to  consolidate 
the  soil  equally,  without  making  it  firmer  on  or  e 
part  of  the  roots  than  another.  If  the  soil  shou  d 
have  been  previously  dug,  trenched,  or  loosened  to 
the  depth  of  a  foot,  or  probably  two  feet  or  thrc  e 
feet,  the  pit  should  not  be  made  so  deep  as  to  thro  *v 
the  neck  or  collar  of  the  plant  below,  or  even  on  a 
level  with  the  surface,  when  the  soil  is  consolidate  d 
by  watering.  On  the  contrary,  it  must  be  left  of 
such  a  height  above  it,  as  that  when  the  soil  LS 
finally  consolidated  by  its  own  gravity,  influenced 
by  the  weather,  the  neck  shall  still  be  above  tl  e 
general  surface  of  the  ground,  and  the  plant  stai.d 
on  a  small  hillock.  This  condition  of  planting  can 
not  be  too  carefully  attended  to ;  for  nothing  c;.n 
be  more  injurious  to  transplanted  plants  than  having 
the  neck  buried  more  than  it  was  in  a  natural  stat3. 
Nothing  is  more  common  than  too  deep  planting ; 
and  the  temptation  to  it  is  the  greater,  because 
deep  planted  plants,  from  having  the  roots  m<re 
accessible  to  moisture,  are  more  certain  of  grov- 
ing  the  first  year,  and  are  less  in  want  of  mulch 
ing  to  exclude  the  heat  and  drought,  and  of  staking 
to  prevent  them  from  being  moved  by  the  wind. 
Hence,  in  planting  trees  or  shrubs,  it  is  of  the 
greatest  importance,  not  only  with  a  view  to  their 
future  growth,  but  also  to  their  natural  appearance 
above  the  surface,  to  have  them  planted  on  little 
hillocks,  greater  or  less  in  height,  according  as  the 
soil  may  have  been  moved  to  a  greater  or  less 
depth,  either  in  the  operation  of  digging  the  pit  in 
firm  soil,  or  in  planting  in  soil  which  has  been 
moved  by  digging,  or  trenching,  or  otherwise.  ]n 


PLANTING.  121 

small  gardens  it  is  generally  desirable,  for  the  sake 
of  producing  immediate  effect,  to  plant  plants  of 
considerable  size  ;  and  in  this  case,  in  addition  to 
the  precautions  which  have  been  already  men 
tioned,  it  is  desirable  to  plant  by  what  is  called 
fixing  with  water.  This  operation  is  performed  in 
the  following  manner :  the  hole  being  properly 
prepared,  the  plant  placed  in  it,  and  the  roots 
spread  out  on  every  side,  and  extended  as  far  as 
they  will  go,  one  person  holds  the  plant  upright,  a 
second  sprinkles  earth  over  the  roots,  and  a  third 
supplies  water  from  a  watering-pot,  with  a  rose  on, 
if  the  plant  be  small,  and  without  a  rose,  if  it  be  a 
tree  of  six  feet  or  eight  feet  in  height,  holding  the 
pot  as  high  above  his  head  as  his  arms  will  reach. 
The  weight  of  the  water  coming  down  from  such 
a  height,  consolidates  the  soil  about  the  roots,  and 
fixes  them  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  render  the 
plant,  if  it  has  been  carefully  taken  up,  almost  in 
the  same  state  as  it  was  in  before  removing. 
Large  trees  or  shrubs,  if  planted  in  this  manner  in 
the  autumn,  and  staked,  where  there  is  danger  from 
high  winds,  will  grow,  and  even  flower  and  fruit, 
the  following  year,  as  well  as  if  they  had  not  been 
removed.  In  this  kind  of  planting,  with  large 
plants,  the  hillock,  left  after  the  operation  is  finish 
ed,  should  not  be  less  than  a  foot  or  eighteen 
inches  above  the  surrounding  surface ;  and  to 
lessen  evaporation  during  the  ensuing  summer, 
the  hillock  should,  if  possible,  be  covered  with 
short  litter,  moss,  turf  turned  upside  down,  or  even 
small  stones,  for  the  first  year.  In  staking  large 
plants  of  this  kind,  the  stakes  should  be  placed 
close  to  the  stem  of  the  plant,  in  which  positior 
they  are  much  less  likely  to  injure  the  fibrous 
11* 


122  PLANTING. 

roots,  than  when  placed  at  a  distance  from  the 
tree  ;  and  the  stakes  should  be  made  fast  to  the 
stem  of  the  plant,  by  a  piece  of  straw  or  hay  rope, 
or  by  a  piece  of  twisted  matting,  or  any  kind  of 
cord;  the  part  of  the  stem  to  which  the  stake  is 
tied,  having  previously  had  a  small  handful  of 
straw,  or  moss,  or  mat,  bound  round  it,  to  prever  t 
the  tie  from  galling  the  bark  of  the  stem,  and  pre 
venting  its  increase  during  summer.  These  stakes 
should  remain  for  a  year,  or  sometimes  two  years, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  plant  and  its  facility 
of  making  roots.  In  general,  the  sooner  the  stake  s 
are  taken  away  the  better  ;  because  the  mo  lion  of 
the  stem  by  the  wind,  is  essential  to  its  increasing 
in  thickness.  In  this  matter  much  must  be  left  10 
the  discretion  of  the  planter,  who  must  always  be;,r 
in  mind  that  a  staked  plant  is  in  a  most  unnatural 
position;  and  also  that  if  the  tree  should  lean 
somewhat  to  one  side  for  some  years  after  plant 
ing,  it  will  ultimately  become  more  or  less  erect  ; 
and  that  a  strong,  vigorous-looking  plant  leaning 
a  little  to  one  side,  affords  a  greater  evidence  of  rs 
being  secure  and  in  sound  health,  than  a  straight, 
erect  plant,  kept  in  that  position  by  a  stake.  In 
the  case  of  planting  trees  with  steins  three  or  four 
inches  in  diameter,  in  exposed  situations,  two  or 
three  stakes  may  be  used,  placed  at  a  short  dis 
tance  from  the  base  of  the  stem  and  leaning 
towards  it;  and  where  they  are  made  fast,  they 
should  be  joined  by  matting,  hay-ropes,  or  some 
other  soft  material,  so  as  not  to  injure  or  confine 
the  bark.  Before  transplanting  trees  of  a  timber 
size,  the  main  roots  are  frequently  cut  at  the  dis 
tance  of  five  feet  or  six  feet  from  the  stem,  a  year 
previously  to  transplanting ;  in  consequence  of 


PLANTING.  123 

which,  they  send  out  fibres  which  in  the  course  of 
the  summer  become  small  roots,  so  that  when  trans 
planted,  the  tree,  instead  of  drawing  its  principal 
nourishment  from  spongioles  at  the  distance  of 
twenty  feet  or  perhaps  thirty  feet  from  the  stem,  is 
enabled  to  draw  it  from  the  distance  of  six  or  eight 
feet,  and  thus  to  continue  growing,  though  not  with 
the  same  degree  of  vigor  as  if  it  had  not  been  trans 
planted.  Some  kinds  of  trees,  when  of  a  large 
size,  such  as  the  Sycamore,  the  Lime,  the  Horse- 
chesnut,  and  a  few  others,  may  be  transplanted 
without  this  precaution  ;  but  in  this  case,  the  ope 
ration  must  be  performed  in  autumn,  as  soon  as  the 
leaves  have  dropped,  in  order  to  give  the  roots 
time  to  form  some  fibres  during  the  winter ;  and 
the  greater  the  distance  from  the  stem  at  which 
the  roots  are  cut,  the  greater  will  be  the  success. 
Large  trees  with  wide-spreading  roots  when  trans 
planted,  seldom  require  to  be  staked,  because  the 
roots  form  a  broad  base,  which  prevents  the  stem 
from  being  blown  to  one  side,  Where  there  is 
danger  anticipated  from  high  winds,  the  tree  may 
be  secured  by  three  guy-ropes  tied  to  the  upper 
part  of  the  stem,  and  made  fast  to  sakes  driven 
into  the  ground  at  such  a  distance  from  the  tree  as 
that  the  ropes  may  form  an  angle  with  the  ground 
of  45°  ;  or  the  stronger  roots  may  be  kept  in  their 
position  by  stakes  driven  into  the  ground  with 
their  heads  beneath  the  surface  of  the  soil,  the 
main  roots  being  made  fast  to  them  by  cords. 

In  all  cases  of  transplanting  deciduous  trees, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Beech  and  the  Hornbeam, 
some  pruning  should  be  -given  to  the  top,  so  as  to 
lessen  the  number  of  branches  and  leaves  which 
.are  to  be  supplied  by  the  root.  The  quantity  of 


124  PLANTING. 

branches  that  are  required  to  be  removed,  will  de 
pend  partly  on  the  kind  of  tree,  and  partly  on  the 
intention  of  the  planter,  but  mainly  on  the  climate 
and  soil.  Beech  trees,  as  already  mentioned,  are 
injured  when  transplanted,  by  having  many  branch 
es  removed,  and  often  die  in  consequence.  Syca 
mores,  and  all  the  Acer  tribe,  having  numerous 
fibres  near  the  main  stem,  require  but  little  pruning 
of  the  head.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Yew 
and  the  Holly,  the  Lime  and  the  Elm.  When  the 
object  of  the  planter  is  to  produce  immediate  effect 
by  a  bulky  head,  all  the  branches  may  be  left  on, 
whatever  may  be  the  kind  of  tree  ;  but  in  that  case 
the  tree  will  produce  only  leaves  for  a  number  of 
years,  or  if  it  produce  shoots  they  will  not  exceed 
a  few  lines  in  length.  Ultimately,  if  the  soil  bo 
poor  and  dry,  the  tree  will  probably  perish;  but  if 
the  soil  should  be  good  and  moist,  and  the  climate 
also  moist,  the  tree  will,  in  time,  become  vigorous, 
and  produce  shoots.  Where  the  climate  is  moisi, 
and  the  soil  good,  and  also  moist,  any  tree  may  b<3 
transplanted  without  pruning  the  branches ;  be 
cause  the  fibres  it  will  produce  in  such  a  soil  and 
climate,  will  be  sufficient  to  supply  the  moisture 
transpired  by  the  leaves.  But  where  the  climate, 
is  dry  and  the  soil  also  dry,  no  large  tree  can  bo 
safely  transplanted  with  all  its  branches  ;  because 
the  transpiration  by  the  leaves  will  be  much  great 
er  than  the  moisture  which  can  possibly  be  absorb 
ed  by  the  roots.  Hence,  in  the  dry  climate  of  the 
Continent,  all  trees  with  stems  above  an  inch  or 
two  in  diameter,  have  their  branches  entirely  cut 
off,  always  excepting  the  Beech  and  Hornbeam 
the  Yew,  and  all  the  Pine  and  Fir,  and  Cypres; 
tribes.  Even  in  this  country,  in  Evelyn's  time 


PLANTING.  125 

this  was  the  practice  ;  and  the  late  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  when  he  planted  groups  of  trees  with  stems 
five  inches  or  six  inches  in  diameter,  on  a  portion 
of  Hounslow  Heath,  which  was  allotted  to  his  resi 
dence  there,  planted  only  stumps  ten  feet  or  twelve 
feet  high,  which  stumps  are  now  finely-headed 
trees,  conspicuous  from  the  road  in  passing  Spring 
Grove.  Much  has  of  late  been  written  on  the  sub 
ject  of  transplanting  large  trees,  by  Sir  Henry 
Steuart  and  others  ;  and  the  practice  has  been  re 
commended  of  leaving  on  the  whole  of  the  head. 
Experience,  however,  hns  proved  that  this  can 
only  be  done  with  advantage,  under  certain  circum 
stances. 

Planting  in  pots,  when  the  plants  are  of  the  very 
smallest  size,  may  be  effected  by  a  small  dibber,  as 
in  planting  in  the  common  soil ;  but  it  is  more  fre 
quently  done  on  the  principle  of  planting  in  pits ; 
that  is,  the  pot  being  properly  drained  by  a  few 
potsherds  being  placed  over  the  hole  in  the  bottom 
of  the  pot,  and  an  inch  or  two  of  soil  placed  over 
them,  according  to  the  size  of  the  pot,  the  young 
seedling  or  newly-struck  cutting  is  held  with  one 
hand,  and  soil  sprinkled  over  the  roots  by  a  trowel 
with  the  other.  When  the  pot  is  filled,  the  soil  is 
consolidated  by  lifting  the  pot  with  both  hands  a 
few  inches  high,  and  setting  it  down  once  or  twice 
with  a  slight  jar ;  afterwards  supplying  water  so 
as  to  moisten  the  whole  of  the  soil  in  the  pot. 
The  thumb,  or  a  potting-stick,  should  previously  be 
passed  round  the  inner  edge  of  the  pot,  so  as  to 
firm  the  soil  round  the  rim  ;  otherwise  the  water  is 
liable  to  run  down  round  the  edge  of  the  pot,  with 
out  moistening  the  soil  in  the  middle.  Immediate 
ly  after  planting,  the  pot  should  be  set  in  a  position 


126 


PLAXTIXG. 


where  it  can  be  shaded  during  sunshine  ;  but  on  no 
account  should  tender  plants  be  shaded  during 
cloudy  weather,  or  covered  with  an  opaque  cover 
ing  during  night,  unless  for  the  purpose  of  protect 
ing  them  from  cold.  Of  course  the  after  treatment 
of  every  plant  in  a  pot  must  depend  on  its  nature.  ; 
all  that  it  is  necessary  at  present  to  treat  of,  is  tho 
manner  of  planting. 

Transplanting  plants  which  have  already  been 
grown  in  pots,  is  either  effected  by  removing  th •? 
ball  or  mass  of  earth  containing  the  roots  entire,  or 
by  gently  breaking  the  ball  in  pieces,  and  stretch 
ing  the  roots  out  on  every  side.  When  the  ball  is 
not  broken,  the  operation  is  called  shifting.  Plants 
are  often  reared  in  pots,  on  account  of  their  tender 
nature  when  young,  or  for  the  convenience  of 
transporting  them  to  a  distance,  though  they  are  in 
tended  ultimately  to  be  planted  in  the  open  ground. 
In  almost  all  cases  of  this  kind,  the  ball  should  b  3 
broken,  and  the  pit  having  been  prepared  with  th-j 
greatest  care,  as  in  common  planting,  the  fibrous 
roots  should  be  stretched  out  in  it  as  far  as  they 
will  go  on  every  side.  Hence,  a  plant  which  has 
been  grown  in  a  very  small  pot,  when  it  is  to  be 
transplanted  into  the  open  garden,  may  often  re 
quire  a  pit  three  feet  or  four  feet  in  diameter. 
There  is  not,  perhaps,  an  operation  in  the  whole 
circle  of  gardening,  that  affords  a  higher  gratifica 
tion  to  the  planter,  than  transplanting  plants  from 
pots  when  the  pits  and  soil  are  properly  prepared, 
and  the  roots  carefully  stretched  out  without  being 
brujsed  or  broken.  In  consequence  of  the  extra 
ordinary  sources  of  nutriment  which  are  thus  af 
forded  to  the  plant,  and  of  the  greatly  increased 
power  given  to  the  roots,  the  shoots  which  it. 


PLANTING.  127 

makes  the  first  year  are  extraordinary,  and  evince 
a  degree  of  vigor,  which  none  but  a  gardener  of  ex 
perience,  could  believe  possible.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  a  plant  in  a  pot  is  turned  out  into  a  pit, 
however  well  the  soil  may  be  prepared,  if  the 
roots  are  not  stretched  out,  it  may  remain  for  many 
years  without  growing  much  faster  than  it  previous 
ly  did  in  the  pot.  This  is  often  the  case  with  the 
more  rare  species  of  the  Pine  and  Fir  tribe,  and 
with  Magnolias  and  other  plants  kept  in  pots  by 
nurserymen  ;  and  it  is  further  attended  by  this  evil, 
that  the  plants  are  easily  blown  to  one  side  by  the 
wind.  In  the  case  of  surface-rooted  plants,  such 
as  Pines,  if  they  have  been  some  years  in  the  pot, 
they  never  send  out  roots  sufficient  to  keep  them 
upright ;  and  hence  the  Pinaster  and  stone  Pine, 
which  are  almost  always  kept  in  pots  in  British 
nurseries,  are  generally  found  leaning  to  one  side, 
in  plantations  in  this  country.  It  is  necessary, 
however,  to  make  the  distinction  between  plants 
newly  planted  in  pots,  and  those  which  have  been 
in  pots  for  two  or  three  years  ;  for  the  former  may 
perhaps  have  few  roots  which  have  reached  the 
sides  of  the  pot,  as  in  the  case  of  China  Roses 
struck  and  potted  early  in  the  season,  and  planted 
out  the  same  summer,  and  which,  of  course,  may 
be  planted  out  without  breaking  the  ball.  The 
same  observation  will  apply  to  all  other  plants  in 
pots,  that  have  not  their  fibrous  roots  somewhat 
woody ;  and  also  to  all  hair-rooted  plants,  such  as 
Heaths,  Rhododendrons,  Azaleas,  Arbutus,  and  in 
general  to  all  the  Ericaceae,  which  having  at  no 
age  large  woody  roots,  may  always  be  transplanted 
from  pots  with  the  balls  entire. 

It  may  here  be  observed,  that  large  shrubs  of 


128  PLANTING. 

almost  all  the  Ericaceae  may  be  transplanted  j.t 
almost  any  age,  with  less  danger  than  most  other 
plants,  as  from  the  slender  and  fibrous  nature  of 
the  great  mass  of  their  roots,  they  are  less  liable 
to  injury  than  woody-rooted  plants.  All  that  is  re  - 
quired  is,  that  they  should  be  taken  up  with  a  large 
ball  of  earth,  and  that  when  replanted,  they  should 
be  abundantly  supplied  with  water. 

Hitherto  nothing  has  been  said  especially  appl  - 
cable  to  evergreens,  whether  in  the  open  ground  cr 
in  pots.  These  being  at  every  season  of  the  yetr 
more  or  less  in  a  growing  state,  it  is  always  desi 
rable  to  transplant  them  with  balls  ;  and  it  is  only 
young  plants  of  evergreens,  such  as  seedling  Ho 
lies,  Portugal  Laurels,  and  young  cuttings  or  layeis 
of  the  common  Laurel,  Laurustinus,  Sweet  Bay, 
Phillyrea,  Alaternus,  Junipers,  &c.,  which  can  be 
sent  to  any  distance  with  a  certainty  of  growing 
without  balls.  The  common  Holly,  when  it  is 
above  three  or  four  feet  in  height,  requires  to  be 
taken  up  with  a  ball,  and  that  ball  carefully  pre 
served  by  being  tied  np  in  a  mat — or,  according  to 
the  Dutch  practice,  put  into  a  basket  of  wicker- 
work.  The  same  remark  will  apply  to  Arborvita-, 
Junipers,  Arbutus,  Rhododendrons,  Box,  Phillyreas, 
and  even  the  common  Laurel. 

The  best  season  for  transplanting  all  deciduous 
trees  and  shrubs,  is  the  autumn  ;  because  the  plant 
has  time  to  produce  some  fibres,  and  accommodate 
itself  to  its  new  soil  and  situation  during  the  win 
ter,  so  as  to  be  prepared  to  grow  freely  the  follow 
ing  spring.  Evergreens  may  also  be  transplanted 
in  autumn,  or  at  any  time  in  open,  moist  weather, 
during  autumn,  winter,  or  early  spring.  In  dry  or 
frosty  weather,  it  is  always  dangerous  to  remove 


PRESERVATION    OF    SEEDS.  129 

them ;  because  the  sap  in  an  evergreen  is  more  or 
less  in  motion  at  every  season  of  the  year,  and  the 
plant  is  never  so  completely  dormant  as  in  the  case 
of  deciduous  trees.  Formerly  it  was  thought  that 
the  best  season  for  removing  evergreens,  was  in 
the  latter  part  of  summer,  shortly  after  they  had 
completed  their  year's  growth ;  but  this  doctrine 
was  only  acted  upon  in  the  time  of  Miller  and  be 
fore,  when  there  were  comparatively  few  species 
of  evergreens  in  British  gardens,  and  it  has  been 
recently  found  by  Mr.  McNab,  (see  his  Treatise  on 
Transplanting  Evergreens.}  that  evergreens  may 
be  transplanted  with  much  greater  safety  in  mild 
weather  in  autumn  or  winter,  than  at  any  other 
period  of  the  year.  Herbaceous  plants  may,  in 
general,  be  transplanted  at  any  season,  when  they 
are  not  in  flower  or  coming  into  flower ;  but  the 
safest  time  for  perennials  is  in  autumn,  after  they 
have  ripened  their  seeds  and  are  going  into  a  dor 
mant  state.  Biennial  and  annual  plants  are  best 
transplanted  when  quite  young,  or  after  they  have 
obtained  their  second  or  third  pair  of  leaves  ;  and 
seedlings  in  general  may  be  treated  in  a  similar 
manner.  In  all  cases  of  planting,  (excepting  with 
Cacti  and  other  succulents,)  the  plants  should  be 
watered  as  soon  as  they  are  fixed  in  their  new  sit 
uations  ;  and  when  practicable,  they  should  be 
shaded  a  few  days  from  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

GATHERING    AND    PRESERVATION    OF    SEEDS. 

The  gathering  and  preservation  of  seeds  is  an 

occupation  peculiarly  agreeable  to  persons  fond  of 

gardening ;  partly,  no  doubt,  because  it  contains  so 

much  of  future  promise,  and  on  the  same  principle 

12 


130  PRESERVATION    OF    SEEDS. 

that  sowing  is  universally  considered  a  more  exci- 
ting  operation  than  reaping.  The  greater  number 
of  seeds  of  ornamental  herbaceous  plants  are  con 
tained  in  long  narrow  pods,  called  siliquez,  o' 
sillicles,  such  as  those  of  the  cruciferous  plants  ; 
or  in  leguminous  pods,  such  as  those  of  the  Sweet 
Pea ;  or  of  capsules,  such  as  those  of  Campanula  ; 
but  a  number  of  plants  produce  their  seeds  naked  in 
tubes,  such  as  the  Scrophularinae  ;  or  receptacles, 
such  as  the  Composita  ;  and  some  in  fruits  more  o  • 
less  fleshy,  such  as  the  Fuchsia.  All  seeds  may 
be  known  to  be  ripe,  or  nearly  so,  by  the  firmness  of 
their  texture,  and  by  their  changing  from  a  white  o  • 
greenish  color,  to  a  color  more  or  less  brown.  There 
are,  indeed,  some  seeds  which  are  whitish  when 
ripe,  such  as  the  White  Lupine,  and  of  several  of 
the  sweet  peas ;  and  other  seeds  that  are  quite  black, 
such  as  those  of  some  Ranunculuses,  but  in  general 
a  brown  color  is  characteristic  of  ripeness.  Seeds 
should  be  gathered  on  a  dry  day,  after  the  sun  has 
had  sufficient  time  to  exhale  all  the  moisture  which 
dews  or  rains  may  have  left  on  the  seed-vessels 
In  general,  the  pods,  or  capsules,  should  be  cut  off 
with  a  small  portion  of  the  stalks  attached,  and  the 
whole  should  be  spread  out,  each  kind  by  itself,  on 
papers,  in  an  airy  room  or  shed,  from  which  rain 
and  the  direct  influence  of  the  sun,  are  both  ex 
cluded.  When  the  seed-vessels  are  thoroughly 
dried,  they  may  be  put  up  in  papers  without  separa 
ting  the  seeds  from  them ;  and  kept  in  a  dry  placey 
rather  airy  than  close,  till  wanted  for  sowing. 
Seeds  preserved  in  the  seed-vessel  no  doubt  make 
comparatively  clumsy  packages,  to  seeds  from 
which  every  descriptiou  of  husk  or  covering  has 
been  separated  ;  but  in  this  clumsy  state  they  are 


PRESERVATION   OF    SEEDS.  131 

found  to  keep  better  than  when  cleaned.  Never 
theless,  when  they  are  to  be  sown  the  following  year, 
or  sent  any  where  in  a  letter,  it  is  better  to  take 
them  out  of  the  covering,  and  render  them  as  clean 
as  possible,  by  passing  them  through  sieves,  with 
holes  sufficiently  large  to  admit  the  escape  of  dust, 
but  not  of  the  seeds.  Such  sieves,  on  a  small 
scale,  every  lady  may  make  for  herself  by  turning 
up  the  edges  of  a  piece  of  thin  pasteboard  cut  in 
a  circular  form,  and  piercing  the  bottom  with  holes 
with  a  large  pin  or  darning  needle.  When  it  is 
determined  to  separate  the  seeds  from  the  seed-ves 
sels,  instead  of  putting  up  the  whole  together,  the 
vessels  after  gathering  may  be  dried  in  the  sun ; 
when  many  of  the  seeds  will  come  out  by  the  ex 
pansion  of  the  seed-vessels  in  the  heat,  and  the 
remainder  can  easily  be  nibbed  out.  This  is  the 
usual  practice  of  nurserymen.  For  keeping  seeds, 
a  lady  ought  to  have  a  small  cabinet,  which  she 
might  form  herself  of  pasteboard,  with  as  many 
drawers  as  there  are  letters  in  the  alphabet ;  and  as 
her  seeds  are  put  up  in  papers,  she  can  tie  the 
packets  of  each  genus  by  themselves,  and  put  them 
in  the  appropriate  drawer.  Where  so  much  trouble 
can  not  be  taken,  a  large  brown  paper  bag,  or  a 
canvass  bag,  for  each  letter  of  the  alphabet,  may  be 
substituted. 

The  period  during  which  seeds  will  retain  their 
vegetative  powers  differs  in  different  families,  gen 
era,  and  even  species.  Seeds  of  the  Ranunculaceae 
and  the  cruciferae,  will,  in  general,  retain  thetr  vital 
ity  for  several  years,  in  whatever  manner  they  may 
be  kept ;  provided  the  situation  be  not  such  as  will 
cause  them  to  germinate.  On  the  other  hand,  seeds 
of  the  Capsicum  will  keep  for  several  years  if  re- 


132  PRESERVATION    OF    SEEDS. 

tained  in  the  berry,  but  will  seldom  grow  the  second 
year  when  removed  from  it.  As  a  safe  general 
guide,  it  may  be  adopted  as  a  rule,  that  all  seeds 
will  keep  three  years,  and  grow,  provided  they  are 
retained  in  the  unopened  seed-vessel ;  that  most 
seeds,  if  maturely  ripened,  and  kept  in  a  dry  place 
in  close  paper  packets,  will  grow  the  second  year; 
and  that  all  seeds  whatever,  whether  kept  in  the 
seed-vessel,  or  exposed  in  open  drawers  like  those 
of  the  seedmen,  will  grow  the  first  year  after  being 
gathered.  Mignionette  seed  will  keep  seven  years ; 
but  that  of  stocks  and  wall-flowers  will  not  remain 
good  more  than  two  years,  unless  kept  in  the  pod 
Sweet  peas  and  lupines  will,  with  difficulty,  keep 
two  years,  while  the  seeds  of  Prince's  feather  and 
of  poppies  will  keep  several  years.  Larkspur  sect: 
will  seldom  grow  after  the  second  or  third  year. 
Notwithstanding  the  length  of  time  which  some 
seeds  will  keep,  it  is  generally  advisable  to  sow  their 
as  soon  after  they  are  ripe  as  practicable,  as  fresh 
seeds  always  vegetate  much  sooner  than  old  ones 


133 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE    WEATHER. 

The  Weather  is  an  important  item,  and  we  will 
add  a  few  general  rules  to  assist  our  readers  in 
judging  of  its  changes  ;  premising,  however,  that  our 
rules  are  not  always  infallible.  The  weather  is 
proverbially  fickle  in  all  her  predictions  and  changes, 
and  we  can  only  seize  upon  such  general  prognos 
tics  as  experience  has  shown  to  be  correct  in  ordi 
nary  cases. 

Rule  1st. — If  the  sun  rise  red  and  fiery,  you  may 
expect  wind  and  rain ;  if  cloudy,  and  the  clouds 
soon  decrease,  certain  fair  weather  ;  if  in  the  morn 
ing  some  parts  of  the  sky  appear  green  between  the 
clouds,  while  the  sky  is  blue  above,  stormy  weather 
is  not  far  off. 

2nd. — CLOUDS  small,  strewed  with  dapple  gray, 
with  a  North  icind,  bring  fair  weather  for  two  or 
three  days  ;  clouds  that  look  like  large  rocks,  por 
tend  large  showers ;  on  the  other  hand,  if  large 
clouds  decrease,  it  is  a  proof  of  fair  weather  in 
summer  or  harvest  time  ;  if  clouds  rise  with  great 
white  tops,  and  joined  together  with  black  on  the 
lowest  side,  especially  if  two  such  clouds  arise, 
make  haste  for  shelter. 

3d.  If  MIST  rises  in  low  grounds  and  soon  van 
ishes,  it  is  a  token  of  fair  weather ;  and  if  it  rises 
high,  or  to  the  tops  of  hills,  you  may  expect  rain 
in  a  day  or  two ;  a  general  mist  before  the  sun 
12* 


134  THE    WEATHER. 

rises,  near  the  full  of  the  moon,  brings  fair  weather 
if  this  happens  in  the  new  moon,  it  brings  rain  ir. 
the  end ;    and  on  the  contrary,  if  before  the  sur. 
rises,  in  the  old  moon,  rain  at  the  new  moon. 

4th.  SUDDEN  RAINS  do  not  last  long  ;  but  wher. 
the  air  grows  thick  by  degrees,  and  the  sun  ant. 
moon  and  stars,  shine  dimmer  and  dimmer,  it  is 
likely  to  rain  for  some  hours.  If  it  begins  to  rain 
an  hour  or  two  before  sun-rising,  it  is  likely  to  be 
fair  before  noon,  but  if  the  rain  begins  an  hour  o :• 
two  after  sun-rising,  it  is  likely  to  rain  all  that  day, 
except  the  rainbow  be  seen  before  it  begins  to  rain. 

5th.  SIGNS  OF  RAIN.  The  air  is  inclined  to  rain 
when,  at  night,  you  hear  the  sound  of  bells,  the 
noise  of  water,  or  of  beasts  of  any  kind,  or  any 
other  noises,  unassisted  by  the  direction  of  the 
wind,  more  plainly  than  at  other  times.  The  sink 
ing  of  rivers,  more  than  usual,  at  some  seasons,  is  ;i 
certain  presage  of  much  rain  to  follow,  and  the  re 
verse  after  the  fall  of  much  rain,  indicating  dry 
weather.  If  the  earth  or  other  moist  places  emit 
any  extraordinary  smell,  rain  follows.  Dews  lyiri<.>; 
long  in  the  morning,  signify  fair  weather;  small 
dews,  and  they  soon  vanishing,  rain.  If  the  colors 
of  the  rainbow  tend  more  to  red  than  any  other  color, 
wind  follows  ;  if  green  or  blue,  then  rain. 

6th.  THE  WIND.  It  has  been  observed  in  Eng 
land,  that  in  eight  years  together,  there  was  as  much 
north-west  wind  as  there  was  north-east,  and  con 
sequently  as  many  wet  years  as  there  was  dry  : 
whether  the  same  holds  good  in  our  country,  has 
not  been  correctly  ascertained,  but  with  some  care 
it  could  easily  be  proved. 

When  the  wind  blows  from  the  north-east,  and 
continues  two  or  three  days  without  rain,  and  hath 


THE    WEATHER.  135 

not  some  south  the  third  day,  it  is  likely  to  continue 
north-east  for  eight  or  nine  days,  all  fair,  and  then 
to  come  south  again ;  if  it  turns  again  out  of  the 
south  to  the  north-east,  with  rain,  and  neither  turns 
south  nor  rainy  the  third  day,  it  is  likely  to  continue 
north-east  a  considerable  time.  Fair  weather  for  a 
week,  with  a  southerly  wind,  is  likely  to  produce  a 
great  drought,  if  there  has  been  much  rain  out  of 
the  south  before.  The  wind  usually  turns  from 
north  to  south,  without  rain ;  but  returns  to  the 
north  with  a  strong  wind  and  rain  ;  the  strongest 
winds  are  when  it  turns  from  south  to  north-west ; 
a  north-wester  generally  brings  clear  weather,  and 
begins  by  blowing  hard.  Wind  blowing  from  the 
sea,  is  observed  to  be  always  most  cool  in  summer, 
and  warm  in  winter. 

When  the  wind  changes  with  the  sun,  that  is, 
from  East  to  South,  from  South  to  West,  it  seldom 
goes  back ;  if  it  does  it  is  only  for  a  short  time ; 
but  if  it  moves  in  a  contrary  direction,  that  is  from 
East  to  North,  from  North  to  West,  it  generally 
returns  to  the  former  point,  at  least  before  it  has 
gone  quite  round  the  circle.  When  wrinds  continue 
to  vary  for  some  hours,  as  it  were  to  try  in  what 
point  they  were  to  settle,  and  afterwards  begin  to 
blow  constant,  they  continue  for  some  days.  If 
the  South  wind  begins  to  blow  for  two  or  three 
days,  the  North  wind  will  blow  suddenly  after  it ; 
but  if  the  North  wind  blows  for  the  same  number  of 
days,  the  South  will  not  rise  till  after  the  East  has 
blown  a  while.  Whatever  wind  begins  to  blow  in 
the  morning,  it  will  continue  longer  than  that  which 
rises  in  the  evening. 

OTHER  PROGNOSTICS.  If  the  last  eighteen  days 
of  February  and  the  first  ten  days  of  March,  be 


136  THE    WEATHER. 

rainy,  then  spring  and  summer  quarters  are  likely 
to  be  so.  If  the  latter  end  of  October  and  begin 
ning  of  November,  be  for  the  most  part  warm  an  1 
rainy,  then  January  and  February  are  likely  to  be 
frosty  and  cold,  except  after  a  very  dry  surr- 
mer.  If  October  and  November  be  frosty,  thei 
January  and  February  are  likely  to  be  open  and 
mild.  Generally,  a  moist  and  cool  summer  portend  s 
a  hard  winter;  a  hot  and  dry  summer  and  autumn, 
especially  if  the  heat  and  drought  extend  far  into 
September,  portend  an  open  beginning  of  winte  ••, 
and  cold  towards  the  latter  part  of  it  and  the  begin 
ning  of  spring.  A  warm  and  open  winter  portends 
a  hot  and  'dry  summer,  for  the  vapors  disperse  in 
the  winter  showers,  whereas  cold  and  frost  keep 
them  in  and  convey  them  to  spring  and  summer. 

Birds  that  change  countries  at  certain  seasons, 
show  the  temper  of  the  weather  according  to  the 
country  whence  they  came  ;  as  in  the  winter, 
pigeons,  wild  ducks  and  geese,  &c.,  if  they  come 
early,  they  come  away  from  a  hard  winter,  and 
when  swallows  come  early,  it  is  followed  by  a  hot 
summer. 


137 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
BOTANICAL  EXPLANATIONS. 

From  Flora's  Interpreter. 



FLOWERS. 

There  are  seven  elementary  parts  in  a  flower — or,  proper 
ly  speaking,  flower  and  fruit. 

1.  Calyx.     The  outer  or  lower  part  of  the  flower,  gen 

erally  not  colored. 

2.  Corol.    The  colored  blossom  of  the  flower,  within  or 

above  the  calyx. 

3.  Stamens.     The  mealy  or  glutinous  knobs,  generally  on 

the  ends  of  slender  filaments. 

4.  Pistil.     The  central  organ  of  a  flower;  the  base  of  this 

becomes  the  pericarp  or  seed. 

5.  Pericarp.     The  covering  of  the  seed,  whether  pod, 

shell,  bag,  or  pulpy  substance. 

6.  Seed.     The  essential  part,  containing  the  rudiments  of 

a  new  plant. 

7.  Receptacle.     The  base  which  sustains  the   other  six 

parts,  being  at  the  end  of  the  stem. 

Any  accidental  appendage  is  a  nectary.  The  form  and  po 
sitions  of  these  organs,  and  of  no  other  part,  are  employed 
in  distinguishing  the  Classes,  Orders,  and  Genera. 

Double  flowers  are  formed  by  changing  the  stamens  into 
petals.  Botanists  term  these  vegetable  monsters. 


138  BOTANICAL    EXPLANATIONS. 

INFLORESCENCE,  OR  MANNER  OF  FLOWERING  . 

1.  Whorl.     An  assemblage  of  flowers  surrounding  the 
stem  or  its  branches,  constitute  a  whorl  or  ring:  this  is  see  i 
in  the  Mint  and  many  of  the  labiate  plants. 

2.  Raceme,  or  cluster,  consists  of  numerous  flowers  earn 
on  its  own  stalk  or  pedicle,  and  all  arranged  on  one  commo  i 
peduncle;  as  a  bunch  of  Currants. 

3.  Panicle,  bears  the  flowers  in  a  kind  of  loose  subdivide  J 
bunch  or  cluster,  without  any  regular  order;   as  in  the  Oa  . 
A  panicle  contracted  into  a  compact,  somewhat  ovate  form, 
as  in  the  Lilac,  is  called  a  Tltyrse,  or  bunch;    a  bunch  if 
Grapes  is  a  good  example. 

4.  Spike.     This  is  an  assemblage  of  flowers  arising  fron 
the  sides  of  a  common  stem:  the  flowers  are  sessile,  or  with 
very  short  peduncles;  as  the  Wheat  and  the  Mullein. 

5.  Umbel,  several  flower-stalks,  of  nearly  equal  length, 
spreading  out  from  a  common  center,  like  the  rays  of  a;i 
umbrella,  bearing  flowers  on  their  summits  ;  as  Fennel  an  1 
Carrot. 

6.  Cyme  resembles  an  umbel  in  having  its  common  stalks 
all  spring  from  one  center,  but  differs  in  having  those  stalks 
irregularly  subdivided  ;  as  the  Snow-ball  and  Elder. 

7.  Corymb)  or  false  umbel — when  the  peduncles  rise  from 
different  heights  above  the  main  stem  ;  but  the  lower  ones 
being  longer,  they  form  nearly  a  level,  or  convex  top ;  as,  the 
Yarrow. 

8.  Fascicle,  flowers  on  little  stalks  variously  inserted  and 
subdivided,  collected  into  a  close  bundle,  level  at  the  top ;  as 
the^  Sweet  William. 

9.  Head,  or  tuft,  has  sessile  flowers  heaped  together  in  a 
globular  form;  as  in  the  Clover. 


CLASSES    AND    ORDERS.  139 

10.  Amenl,  or  catkin,  is  an  assemblage  of  flowers  composed 
of  scales  and  stamens,  arranged  along  a  common  thread-like 
receptacle ;  as  in  the  Chesnut  and  Willow. 

11.  Spadix  is  an  assemblage  of  flowers,  growing  upon  a 
common  receptacle,  and  surrounded  by  a  spatha,  or  sheath; 
as  in  the  Egyptian  Lily. 


CLASSES  AND  ORDERS. 

THE  explanations  of  these  must  necessarily  be  very  brief; 
my  aim  being  rather  to  stimulate  curiosity  respecting  the  sub 
ject  of  Floral  Botany,  than  to  impart  instruction  in  the  sci 
ence.  A  few  general  facts,  and  a  few  of  the  first  terms,  are 
all  that  can  be  given. 

Flowers  in  the  Linnsean  system  are  divided  into  ticenty-four 
Classes.  These  Classes  are  divided  into  Orders.  Orders  into 
Genera  ;  Genera  into  Species ;  Species  are  frequently  changed 
into  Varieties. 

The  first  ten  classes  are  distinguished  by  the  number  of 
their  stamens  ; — thus, 

1.  Monandria,  1  stamen ;  Flowering  Reed  is  the  only  one 

of  this  class  given. 

2.  Diandria,  2  stamens  ;  Lilac,  Sage,  Jasmine,  etc. 

3.  Triandria,  3  stamens  ;  Crocus,  Iris,  Oat,  etc. 

4.  Tetandria,  4  stamens;  Witch-Hazel,  Holly,  etc. 

5.  Pentandria,  5  stamens;  Violet,  Flax,  Woodbine,  etc, 

6.  Hexandria,  6  stamens;  Lily,  Sorrel,  Aloe,  etc. 

7.  Heptandria,  7  stamens;   Horse-chesnut,  etc.     None  of 

this  class  given. 

8.  Octandria,  8  stamens;  Nasturtion,  etc. 

9.  Eneandria,  9  stamens  ;  Laurel,  etc. 


140  CLASSES    AND    ORDERS. 

10.  Decandria,  10  stamens;  Rue,  Pink,  Hydrangea. 

11.  Dodecandria,  12  to  19  stamens;   Mignonette,  etc. 

22.  Icosandria,  20  or  more,  standing  on  the  calyx.     Ro.<e, 
etc. 

13.  Polyandria,  always  20  or  more,  on  the  receptacle ;  B  it- 
ter-cup,  Larkspur,  Peony,  etc. 

14.  Didynamia,  4  stamens, 2  ofthem  uniformly  the  longest; 
Fox-glove,  Balm,  Thyme,  etc. 

15.  Tetr adynamia,  6  stamens,  4  of  them  uniformly  the  lor  g- 
est;  Gilly-Flower,  Honesty,  Queen's  Rocket,  etc. 

16.  Monodelphia,  stamens  united  by  their  filaments  in  one 
set,  anthers  being  separated ;   Geraniums,  Hibiscus, 
etc. 

17.  Diaddphia,  stamens  united  by  their  filaments  in  two 
sets  ;  Rowers  papilionaceous,  or  butterfly-shaped. 

18.  Polydclphia,  stamens  in  two  sets,  united  at  the  bottom 
by  the  filaments ;  Orange,  St.  John's  Wort,  etc. 

19.  Syngensia,  stamens  5,  united  by  their  anthers  in  one 
set,  flowers  compound  ;   China-aster,  Daisy,  etc. 

20.  Gynandria,  stamens  stand  on  the  germ,  style  or  stigma, 
separate  from  the  base  of  the  calyx  or  corol;   Orchis, 
etc. 

21.  Monacia,  stamens  and  pistils  in  separate  flowers  on  the 
same  plant;  Amaranth,  Pine,  Nettle,  etc. 

22.  Dia>.da,  stamens  and  pistils  on  separate  plants ;  Yew, 
etc. 

23.  Polygamia,  stamens  variously  situated ;  sometimes  on 
flowers  with  pistils,  sometimes  stamens  only;   Mim 
osa,  etc. 

24.  Cryptogamia,  the  flowers  of  this  class  are  invisible  to 
the  naked  eye  ;  Lichen,  Moss,  etc. 


ORDERS.  141 


ORDERS. 

The  first  thirteen  orders  are  distinguished  entirely  by  the 
number  of  pistils,     The  names  of  these  orders  are, 

Monogyria — 1  pistil.  Heptagynia — 7. 

Digynia — 2.  Octagynia — 8. 

Trigyuia — 3.  Enneagynia — 9. 

Tetradyginia— 4.  Decagynia — 10. 

Pentagynia — 5,  Dodecagynia — 12. 

Hexagynia — 6.  Polyginia,  many  pistils. 

The  14th  Class  has  (  1  Gymnospermia — seed  naked. 

2  orders —  \  2  Angiospermia — seed  in  capsules. 

15th  Class-2  orders-  5  J  Siliculoso-pod  short. 
£  &  feiliquosa — pod  long. 

16,  17,  18th  Classes — In  these  the  orders  are  determined 
from  the  number  of  stamens. 

19,  Class  5,  orders  1.  Equalis. — 2,  Superfua. — 3.  Frustanea. 

4.  Necessaria. — 5.  Segergata. 

20,  21st  Classes. — Orders  have  the  same  names  as  the  pre 

ceding  classes. 

22d  Class  has  8  orders ;  the  first  seven  named  from  the  num 
ber  of  stamens — the  8th,  Monodelphia,  because  the 
stamens  are  united  in  one  set. 

23d  Class  has  3  orders.  MoncBcia — stamens  and  pistils  in  sep 
arate  flowers  on  the  same  plants.  D'mcia — stamens, 
etc.  as  different  plants.  Tricecia — on  three  flowers. 

24th  Class  is  divided  into  6  families  Felices,  (ferns;)  2.  Musci, 
fcnosses;)  3.     Heptaicce,  (liverworts;)  4.    Alga,  (sea 
weeds;)  5.  Lichenes,  (lichens;)  6.  Fungi,  (mushrooms.) 
13 


142        TO    PRESERVE    FLOWERS    AND    PLANTS. 


POISONOUS  PLANTS. 

1.  Plants  with  five  stamens  and  one  pistil,  with  a  dull-co  - 
ored  lurid  corol,  and  of  a  nauseous  sickly  smell,  always  po  - 
sonous.     As,  tobacco,  thorn-apple,  henbane,  nightshade. 

2.  Umbelliferous  plants  of  the  aquatic  kind,  and  a  nauseoi  s 
scent,  are  always  poisonous.     As,  water-hemlock,  cow-pars 
ley.     But  if  the  smell  is  pleasant,  and  they  grow  on  dry  lane!, 
they  are  not  poisonous.     As,  fennel,  dill,  coriander. 

3.  Plants  with  labiate  corols,  and  seeds  in  capsules,  fr<  - 
quently  poisonous.     As,  snap  dragon,  fox-glove. 

4.  Plants  from  which  issue  a  milky  juice  on  being  broken, 
are  poisonous,  unless  they  bear  compound  flowers.     A^, 
milk-weed,  dogbane. 

5.  Plants  having  any  appendage  to  the  calyx  or  corol,  ai;d 
eight  or  more  stamens,  generally  poisonous.     As,  colum 
bine,  nasturtion. 

Plants  with  few  stamens,  not  poisonous,  except  the  num 
ber  be  five  ;  but  if  the  number  be  twelve  or  more,  and  tLe 
smell  nauseous,  heavy  and  sickly,  the  plants  are  generally 
poisonous. 


TO  PRESERVE  FLOWERS  AND  PLANTS. 

Place  the  specimens  in  a  close,  dark  room;  when  the 
plants  are  nearly  dry,  press  them,  in  small  quantities  envel 
oped  in  paper,  till  the  oil  appears  on  the  surface,  which  you 
will  know  by  its  discoloring  the  paper ;  then  do  them  up  in 
clean  paper  bags,  and  they  will  retain  their  fragrance,  color, 
and  medicinal  properties,  for  years, 


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